The Department of Labor has emerged victorious in two complaints filed against plan sponsors on behalf of participants.
In the first, former employees of Oxford Holdings Inc. are on track to recover more than $130,000 after contributions were not made to the company's 401(k) plan after they had been deducted from employees' paychecks.
The Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) filed a complaint in August against Steven J. Watkins, plan trustee and owner of Oxford Holdings Inc., a former construction company based in Fort Lauderdale and Aetna 401(k) Plan.
The Aetna plan was established by Oxford for its employees and permitted participants to contribute a portion of their pay through payroll deductions.
An investigation found that from April 12, 2010 through April 5, 2013, Oxford and Watkins withheld a total of $117,167 in employee contributions and did not segregate the contributions from company assets.
In fact, they never forwarded these contributions to the plan.
In April 2013, the company ceased operations and the defendants failed to terminate the plan and ensure that its assets, totaling $130,525, were appropriately distributed to the plan participants.
Since the complaint was filed, defendants have made restitution to the plan in the amount of $95,000.
