SEATTLE, WA – The U.S. District Court of Oregon recently granted the U.S. Department of Labor’s motion for default judgment against Portland, Oregon-based National Security Retirement Plan LLC and Invest n’ Retire LLC for abandoning employer sponsored benefit plans while 31 participants’ assets, worth over $1,500,000, remained in them. The participants were employees of Retirement Solutions Advisors LLC, the National Association for Plan Liability and Keene Photography Studio.
After an investigation by the Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administrations (EBSA), the Department’s Plan Benefits Security Division filed a complaint on June 15, 2020, alleging that the defendants, along with their owners and former fiduciaries and trustees – Darwin and Carolyn Abrahamson – misappropriated plan assets before abandoning the plans in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
In December 2017, the Abrahamsons took their own lives, leaving their companies and the plans without executives, employees or fiduciaries to operate the entities.
The U.S. District Court has ordered the two defendants be removed as fiduciaries of the plans and appointed Retirement Solutions Advisors, LLC to serve in their stead.
“The U.S. Department of Labor took this action on behalf of the employees to ensure the plans’ proper administration and participants’ access to their hard-earned retirement funds,” said Regional Director Klaus Placke, in San Francisco, California.
ERISA requires fiduciaries operate employee benefit plans solely in the interest of participants and beneficiaries. Employers and workers can reach EBSA toll-free at 866-444-3272 for help with problems related to private sector retirement and health plans.
EBSA’s mission is to assure the security of the retirement, health and other workplace related benefits of America’s workers and their families. EBSA accomplishes this mission by developing effective regulations; assisting and educating workers, plan sponsors, fiduciaries and service providers; and vigorously enforcing the law.
The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.
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