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Florida Investment Broker Sentenced.
(Associated Press via Excite News, 4/11/2001)
An investment broker has been sentenced to 6 1/2
years in federal prison for defrauding a police pension
fund.
DOL Obtains Consent Order That Requires Profit-Sharing Plan Fiduciaries To Pay $101,618.
(U.S. DOL, April 2001)
The Department of Labor has obtained a consent order that requires the fiduciaries of Distribution Specialists, Inc., to pay $101,618 in restitution and civil penalties to plan participants.
Colorado
Plan Trustees Ordered to Repay Participants and Disband 401(k) Plan.
(U.S. DOL, March
2001)
Two Colorado officials agreed to restore $17,125 to the 401(k) pension
plan of the now defunct JRMK Companies, Inc. of Denver.
Business and Company Placed on Probation, Fined for Embezzling 401(k) Funds.
(U.S. DOL, February 2001)
Funds which were to be rolled over from the predecessor's plan to a new plan were instead deposited in the company's operating account and subsequently used by affiliated companies and and for the employer's personal benefit.
A Case Sounds a Warning About Pension Safety
(NY Times, 10/1/2000)
Workers who think that their pensions are secure because the government guarantees them, and that their 401(k) money is safe once it goes to an investment house, may want to follow closely a case in Portland, Ore., that has cost 100,000 people some major chunks of their retirement income.
Your Portfolio: Is Your Boss Raiding the 401(k) Till? (Individual Investor Magazine, 7/20/2000)
Vigilance is particularly necessary when companies undergo major shake-ups--such as a merger, an acquisition, or a restructuring. Plan participants should always pay attention to how quickly colleagues are able to withdraw or roll over their money.
Labor Department Obtains Order Freezing
Assets of Third-Party Administrators (U.S.
DOL, Jun '99)
U.S. Dept of Labor gets preliminary injunction of Houston, TX
third-party administrator and parent company.
Labor Department Seeks to Recoup Plan Losses
from Former Company Pres
(U.S.
DOL, May '99)
U.S. Dept of Labor goes after former Louis Allis Co. president
in effort to recoup monies owed participants of company plans.
Labor Department Sues Ohio Exec Over
Misuse of 401k Contributions (U.S.
DOL, Apr '99)
U.S. Dept of Labor sues for failure to deposit contributions
into plan's investment accounts
Former Fresno Pension Administrator Pleads
Guilty to Embezzlement
(U.S.
DOL, Jan '99)
U.S. Dept of Labor says unpaid employee welfare benefit medical
plan claims could total $5 million
Pension Fund Administrator Sentenced
in Fraud Scheme
(The
Arizona Republic, Jun '98)
Pension-fund administrator who bilked 15,000 investors out of
$11.4 million in wire fraud scheme gets five years
SEC Reins In Administrator of Self-Directed
IRAs (American Banker,
Jun '96)
SEC lowers the boom on pension plan administrator operating as
unregistered broker/dealer
Pension Firm Ordered to Cease Holding Cash (Los Angeles Times, Jun '96)
Administrator of IRAs of Irvine lacks a license to be a custodian
of customers' assets, SEC says
U.S. to Crack Down on Pensions Fraud (Accountant, Jan '96)
Proposed Congressional legislation spawned by Labor Department
findings of an increase in pension fraud
Firms Under Suspicion of 401k Abuse (Los Angeles Times, Nov '95)
Government says some are improperly diverting employee contributions
Executive Accused of Looting Pension
Plan (Los Angeles Times,
Nov '95)
Federal grand jury indicts businessman, charging he used pension
assets for personal and business expenses
SEC v. Qualified Pensions, Inc. (Lit, Rel. Nos. 14642 and 14680; D.D.C.
Sep 13, 1995)
QPI allegedly permitted investors to purchase illiquid, unregistered
securities; also, QPI allegedly misappropriated at least $4.5
million in retirement savings
4-Year Sentence Given for Investment Fraud (Los Angeles Times, Mar '95)
Former president of First Pension in Irvine is also told to repay
$74 million to investors, some of whom call term too short
Lawsuit Filed Against Educators' Fund (Los Angeles Times, Aug '94)
Investors' civil action alleges that up to $100 million has been
lost
3 First Pension Principals Plead Guilty
to Fraud (Los Angeles Times,
Aug '94)
Express "incredible remorse" at cheating investors
out of $121.5 million in retirement funds
SEC v. Cooper, VestCorp Securities,
Inc., et al (Lit, Rel. Nos. 14090,
14104 and 14343; C.D. Cal., May '94)
Certain defendants allegedly misappropriated $25 million of pension
funds, wrote unauthorized checks, failed to disclose that trust
deeds securing the limited partnership did not exist, and more
Troubled Firms Seen Misusing Pension Funds (Los Angeles Times, Jan '94)
U.S. Dept. of Labor cites growing problem involving small, ailing
companies misusing workers' 401k contributions
Plan to Regulate Pension Funds Isn't Adequate (Los Angeles Times, Jun '90)
Labor Secretary's proposed legislation incomplete
Lax Pension Plan Audits Criticized (Los Angeles Times, Nov '89)
Congressional report will warn that many funds are never examined.
Some accountants are allowed to skip scrutiny of key areas.
Pension Plans Looted as Safeguards Weaken (Los Angeles Times, Oct '89)
Despite warnings, about $4 billion in retirement income may have
been taken by racketeers
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