DOL Sues LifeCare of Alabama

June 26, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The Department of Labor (DOL) is suing a private ambulance service and its CEO for allegedly mishandling retirement funds.

The DOL alleges that Hartselle-based LifeCare of Alabama Inc. and Susan Clingman-Banks violated provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by failing to forward employee contributions to the company’s 401(k) plan in a timely manner, according to CBS News. The suit seeks to restore more than $112,000 in assets.

The lawsuit is seeking to use Clingman-Banks’ individual account to offset plan losses, bar the defendants from serving as fiduciaries of any ERISA plan and appoint an independent fiduciary to administer the plan.

The Employee Benefits Security Administration’s (EBSA) Atlanta Regional Office found that between October 2008 and March 2010, the defendants did forward $112,354.91 of employee contributions to the plan in a timely manner. Between September 2005 and September 2008, the defendants did not forward $105,586.09 of employee contributions to the plan.

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