|
|
|
|
|
Release Date: 03/16/1998
Release Number:USDL:
98-41
Contact Name:GLORIA DELLA
Phone Number:
202.219.8921 |
|
|
|
The U. S. Department of Labor today has obtained a
settlement agreement requiring an owner of now-defunct Home Electric Service,
Inc. of Lake Worth, Fla. to make restitution of $30,000 to the company’s
profit sharing plan and appointing an independent manager to oversee the
plan. |
|
Under the terms of the settlement, defendant
Andrew C. Atkins Jr. shall forfeit his right to plan benefits in order to
satisfy the restitution ordered by the court. In addition, the court order
gives the independent fiduciary, Michael E. Kamel, CPA, the authority to
terminate the plan and to distribute the assets to participants if
necessary. |
|
The profit sharing plan provided retirement, death
and disability to some 9 employees of the company. The plan had $100,927 in
assets as of Dec. 31, 1994. |
|
In its lawsuit, the department named as defendants
Andrew C. Atkins Jr. and his wife Michele P. Atkins. Andrew Atkins was a
trustee of the profit sharing plan and an officer of the company at the time of
the improper investments. His wife was named because she was a party in
interest. |
|
According to the lawsuit, Andrew C. Atkins Jr.
violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) when he made a
series of loans totaling $220,605 to Aranda Builders, Inc., a company owned by
one of Atkins’s partners in another real estate venture. Andrew Atkins and
Michael Aranda were officers and directors of Summerwinds Homes, Inc. |
|
The plan loans were used to purchase a subdivision
in Jupiter, Fla. The property, titled in the names of Atkins, Aranda and their
wives, was foreclosed on by the Great Southern Bank after they defaulted on the
loan. |
|
The lawsuit was filed on March 6 in federal
district court in West Palm Beach, Fla. The settlement agreement was entered on
March 16. This case resulted from an investigation conducted by the Miami
District Office of the department’s Pension and Welfare Benefits
Administration (PWBA). PWBA enforces the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act. |
|
(Herman v. Atkins)
Civil Action No.
98-8145-CIV-Middlebrooks |
|
U.S. Department of
Labor news releases are accessible on the Internet. The information in this
news release will be made available in alternate format upon request (large
print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the Central Office for Assistive
Services and Technology. Please specify which news release when placing your
request. Call 202.693.7773 or TTY 202.693.7755. |
|
|
