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Release Date: April 28, 2009
Release Number: 09-421-ATL (102)
Contact Name: Michael D'Aquino/Michael Wald
Phone Number: 404.562.2076/404.562.2078
Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor is
suing Bonnie Tile and several of its former corporate officers to
require them to restore assets to the defunct company’s savings
incentive match plan for Employees (SIMPLE IRA) plan.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern
District of Florida, the lawsuit alleges that the defendants violated
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The suit alleges
that in 2006 and 2007 the defendants withheld employee contributions and
failed to send them to the plan, failed to make company matching
contributions between 2006 and 2008, and failed to maintain plan records
during this period. The department calculates plan losses of
approximately $28,500.
The suit seeks a court order to require that three
officers – Dennis Hughes, Susan Hughes and John Frank Mason – be
barred from serving in a fiduciary capacity to any ERISA-covered plan in
the future and to appoint an independent administrator at the
defendants’ expense.
“The Labor Department will not allow company
officials to take funds meant for their employees’ retirement and use
them for other purposes,” said R.C. Marshall, regional director of the
department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) office
in Atlanta.
Bonnie Tile was a tile and flooring wholesaler
located in West Palm Beach, Florida. In 2007, the company filed for
bankruptcy. The filing was later dismissed by the judge.
This case resulted from an investigation conducted by
EBSA’s district office in Miami. Employers and workers can reach
EBSA’s regional office in Atlanta 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 2008, EBSA achieved monetary
results of $1.2 billion related to pension, 401(k), health and other
benefits for millions of American workers and their families.
Solis v. Dennis Hughes
Civil Action File Number 9:09-cv-80523
U.S. Department of Labor news releases are accessible on the
Department's Newsroom
page. The information in this news release will be made available
in alternate format (large print, Braille, audio tape or
disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when
placing your request at 202.693.7828 or TTY 202.693.7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America's employers and
employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply
with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit the
Department's Compliance
Assistance page.
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