What defunct company in Pella, Iowa is the U.S. Department of Labor now is suing?
PELLA, Iowa (AP) – The U.S. Department of Labor is suing a defunct Pella company, claiming it used employee IRA contributions to operate the company. The labor department filed the lawsuit against the owner of Van Elsen Consulting Inc., an actuarial consulting firm that ceased operations in December 2006. The lawsuit seeks a court order to restore employee contributions owed to the company’s IRA plan and appoint an independent representative to distribute the plan’s assets and terminate the plan. Labor officials also are seeking to bar the company’s owner, James Van Elsen, from serving as a service provider to any plan governed by the Employee Income Security Act. Sources: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/market_news/article.jsp?
The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Bichler and Kelly P.A. and two of its attorneys to protect the assets of the law firm’s savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement account (SIMPLE IRA). Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the lawsuit alleges that Geoffrey Bichler and Robin Dobson violated provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) on approximately 100 occasions when they withheld employee contributions owed to the plan. They allegedly also failed to remit the money in a timely manner in accordance with ERISA and the plan’s governing documents. At various times between 2005 and 2007, the contributions were never forwarded to the plan, resulting in the funds being commingled with the general assets of the company and plan participants losing the benefit of their contributions and subsequent lost earnings. “The defendants have a fiduciary duty to handle SIMPLE IRA contributions for the exclusive benefit of
The U.S. Department of Labor is suing a defunct Pella company, claiming it used employee IRA contributions to operate the company. The labor department filed the lawsuit against the owner of Van Elsen Consulting Inc., an actuarial consulting firm that ceased operations in December 2006. The lawsuit seeks a court order to restore employee contributions owed to the company’s IRA plan and appoint an independent representative to distribute the plan’s assets and terminate the plan. Labor officials also are seeking to bar the company’s owner, James Van Elsen, from serving as a service provider to any plan governed by the Employee Income Security Act. Sources: http://archives.chicagotribune.
