U.S. Department of Labor Sues Alabama Company and Executive For Misusing Pension Assets

dol.gov, Nov 10, 2005

Release Date: 03/23/2005

Suit Filed:

Federal District Court In The Middle District of Alabama

Atlanta, Georgia - The U. S. Department of Labor has filed suit against H&H Doors and Hardware Inc., Dothan, Alabama, and its former vice president, for misusing $1,216,232 in assets from the company retirement plan. The Labor Department lawsuit alleges that Mark Hartzog and the company violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by transferring plan assets held in bank, brokerage and investment accounts to the accounts of H&H and Mark Hartzog and using the plan’s assets as security for a corporate loan. Hartzog, as the plan’s trustee, also allegedly failed to collect numerous outstanding participant loans owed to the plan.

The suit seeks a court order to require that Hartzog and H&H restore all monies owed to the plan, with interest; return all illegal profits received by them; and offset Hartzog’s plan account in the amount of the losses to the plan. The department also asks the court to permanently bar the defendants from service to employee benefit plans governed by ERISA in the future and to appoint an independent trustee to administer the plan.
 
The retirement plan covered as many as 17 participants and had $1,131,198 in assets at the end of 2000. Mark Hartzog was removed as vice president of H&H and as plan trustee in 2002 after his actions were discovered.

For More Information: 

Department Of Labor (dol.gov)