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Release Date: 03/27/2000 Release Number: 00 -
59 Contact Name: Sharon Morrissey Phone Number: 202)
219-8921 |
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Two Pensacola doctors agreed to repay $190,000 to
the profit sharing plan of the medical practice owned by them under separate
settlements reached with the U.S. Department of Labor. The money represents
losses to plan participants other than themselves which resulted from
prohibited loans made to a local sports partnership. |
Drs. Stricker C. Mays and Emilio A. Antonetti,
equal partners in the practice and trustees of the plan, also were barred
permanently from serving in any position of trust to any employee benefit plan
covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) |
The defendants agreed to restore losses by making
cash payments or waiving their right to benefits under the plan and
re-distributing the money to the accounts of the plan participants other than
themselves. The plan had 13 participants and $668,548 in assets as of Dec. 31,
1997. |
The departments lawsuit also simultaneously
sued the defendants, their practice and the plan for allegedly loaning $117,761
from their participants individual plan accounts and $2,239 from the
plans general assets to Pensacola Soccer Complex, Ltd.(PSC), a limited
partnership formed by Hartwig, Matteson & Mays, Inc., in which Dr. Mays was
a limited partner and officer. |
As part of its lawsuit, the department alleged
that Dr. Mays called a meeting of plan participants in April 1995, advising
them their investments were not doing well and that the plan had been changed
to allow participants to direct their investments. Then, he allegedly met with
participants one-on-one, eventually persuading 12 of the plan participants to
sign a form indicating what amount they wanted to invest in the soccer
partnership. |
While the soccer complex which is no longer
in existence was under construction in the fall of 1995, two hurricanes
swept the area, causing damages between $500,000 and $600,000, and the soccer
partnership did not have adequate hazard insurance to cover the losses.
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Our goal is to protect the benefits promised
to workers by their employers and to let them know that the department is only
a phone call away to help them, said Howard Marsh, director of the Labor
Departments Atlanta Regional Office of the Pension and Welfare Benefits
Administration. Employers and workers can reach us at (404) 562-2156 in
Atlanta for help with any problems relating to private-sector pension and
health plans. |
The consent orders/settlements, resulting from an
investigation conducted by the departments Atlanta Regional Office of the
Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, which enforces ERISA, were entered
March 22 in federal district court in Pensacola. |
(Herman v. Stricker C. Mays, M.D. and Emilio N.
Antonetti, M.D.) Civil Action # 3:00 CV 100 RV |
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 202.693.7775. |
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