Compliance December 24, 2008
ERISA Litigator Seeks Plan Fiduciaries
And no, not in the way you may think.
Reported by Nevin E. Adams
The ERISA litigators at Seattle-based Keller Rohrback L.L.P – who frequently wind up taking up actions on behalf of plan participants against plan sponsors – have announced that they are “…investigating the legal options of retirement savings and pension plans that have been affected by the long-running Ponzi scheme at Bernard Madoff Investment Securities.’
In a press release, Keller Rohrback said that the ongoing investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has revealed that Madoff kept several sets of books and false documents, and provided false information involving his advisory activities to investors and to regulators – and that it has been reported that this scheme has cost investors over $50 billion. The announcement goes on to cite preliminary reports that the firm says indicate that intermediaries who advised investment in Madoff knew or should have known that the firm was engaged in wrongdoing based on suspicious returns and other signals of misconduct.
To date only a few retirement plans have come to light as impacted by the Madoff scandal; Sterling Properties in St. Louis (see 401(k) Plan Invested with Madoff), a profit-sharing plan run by suburban Minneapolis drugmaker Upsher-Smith Laboratories (see Minneapolis Profit-Sharing Plan Also Victim of Ponzi Scheme), and the pension plan of the town of Fairfield, Connecticut (see CT Town Pension Claims $42M Madoff Fund Loss).
The law firm’s announcement suggests that fiduciaries of retirement savings or pension plans that have suffered losses as a result of the Ponzi scheme at Bernard Madoff Investment Securities contact paralegal Jennifer Tuato’o or attorneys Derek Loeser or Lynn Sarko toll free at (800) 776-6044, or via e-mail at investor@kellerrohrback.com.
Keller Rohrback has served as lead and co-lead counsel in numerous ERISA class action cases, including cases against Enron, WorldCom, HealthSouth, Marsh & McLennan, and Merrill-Lynch.