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Release Date: January 7, 2009
Release Number: 08-1760-ATL (001)
Contact Name: Michael Wald
Phone Number: 404.562.2078
Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor has
obtained consent judgments restoring an additional $250,000 to the
Georgia Plumbers Trade Association Health Plan in Griffin, Georgia, and
requiring the payment of a $50,000 civil penalty to the federal
government. Earlier this year, the court ordered restitution of more
than $500,000 for losses suffered by the plan.
The department filed two separate lawsuits in U.S.
District Court for the Northern District of Georgia that alleged the
defendants affiliated with the health plan violated provisions of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Defendants named in the
suits were Marc Meixner, GPTA Benefits Group Inc., Leslie E. Smith,
Employers OneSource Inc., David Sherman, Ron Anderson, Windell Peters,
and the association. Defendants Meixner and Smith allegedly failed to
properly evaluate and underwrite benefits, failed to adjust rates and
benefits to pay promised benefits, failed to adequately fund claims owed
by the plan, and paid excessive fees for services provided to the health
plan. These defendants’ affiliated firms, GPTA Benefits Group and
Employers OneSource, improperly dealt with the plan’s assets and
received compensation for their personal benefit, the department further
alleged.
Anderson and Peters, as officers of the Georgia
association and plan trustees, allegedly failed to oversee, monitor and
control the health plan’s assets.
In addition to the restitution, the court provided
injunctive relief against various defendants and permanently barred
Anderson, Peters, and Meixner from serving as fiduciaries to any plan
governed by ERISA in the future.
The association is a nonprofit organization that
provided education and resources to assist Georgia plumbers in complying
with building code changes. The health plan was a multiple employer
welfare arrangement that provided medical coverage to approximately 500
participants in Georgia.
“Workers and their families have been saddled with
health claims because of the improper actions of the defendants in the
Georgia Plumbers case,” said Bradford P. Campbell, assistant secretary
for the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).
“This legal action restores money to pay the health claims of these
workers.”
The case was investigated by EBSA’s Atlanta
Regional Office. Employers and workers can reach EBSA’s Atlanta
Regional Office at 404.302.3900 or toll-free at 866.444.3272 for help
with problems relating to private sector retirement and health plans. In
fiscal year 2007, EBSA achieved monetary results of $1.5 billion related
to pension, 401(k), health and other benefits for millions of American
workers and their families.
Chao v. Marc Meixner
Civil Action File Number 1:07-CV-0595 WSD
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