President of Defunct Firm Accused of Stealing 401(k) Deferrals

April 10, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The top official of a Horsham, Pennsylvania-based medical management consulting firm has been indicted in federal court on charges that he stole employees' retirement contributions.

James K. Edler Jr., former president of the now defunct McFaul & Lyons Group, was charged April 1 with one count of theft from an employee pension benefit program, the Bucks County Courier Times reports. He is accused of taking more than $105,000 of employee salary deferrals to the firm’s 401(k) plan from April 2004 to April 2005.

The attorney who represents the 10 former employees whose pension contributions Edler is accused of stealing said Edler never put the money into the plan’s investments. The attorney said the former employees are also calling for the McFaul & Lyons Group to provide a 50% match on the contributions, according to the news report.

According to the attorney, the discrepancy came to light when an employee contacted an official for the 401(k) plan and discovered the plan was not being funded. When the attorney filed papers seeking the money for the 10 employees, it triggered the involvement of the Department of Labor and U.S. Treasury Department which investigated and brought their findings to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

If convicted, Edler faces up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

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