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Compliance April 22, 2016
DOL Accuses Firm of Prohibited Retirement Plan Loans
The suit alleges a law firm president and owner caused the company’s retirement plan to loan thousands of dollars to real estate deals he controlled.
Reported by Rebecca Moore
The Department of Labor (DOL) has filed suit to recover more than $110,000 for the retirement plan of The Leiter Group Attorneys and Counselors Professional Corp.
According to the DOL, an investigation by its Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) found Peoria, Illinois-based law firm The Leiter Group Attorneys and Counselors Professional Corp. and Thomas E. Leiter, the firm’s president and sole owner, violated multiple provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Specifically, the suit alleges that Leiter caused the company’s retirement plan to loan more than $179,000 to building trusts controlled by Leiter and that he caused the plan to invest $225,000 in a Florida condominium project substantially controlled by Leiter.
The suit seeks a court order requiring The Leiter Group Attorneys and Counselors Professional Corp. and Leiter to restore all losses to the plan’s participants and to appoint an independent fiduciary to administer the plan.
As of December 31, 2014, the plan had 10 participants and $435,767 in assets.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, can be viewed here.