Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.
Chicago, Illinois - The U.S. Department of Labor obtained a consent order and judgment on Dec. 12, 2002, ordering the owner of Birger Nyborg & Co., Ltd. of Roselle, Illinois and the trustee of the company’s pension plan to restore $38,439.57 to the plan and permanently barred him from serving any employee benefit plan covered by federal pension law.
The judgment, which was entered in federal district court in Chicago, also ordered Nyborg to terminate the plan, distribute its assets and file all required documents with the appropriate government agencies.
“This action reaffirms our commitment to protect the hard-earned benefits promised by employers,” said Kenneth Bazar, director of the department’s Chicago regional office of the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, which investigated the case.
The court action resolves civil and bankruptcy lawsuits brought by the department in September 2002 against Birger Nyborg and his company. Nyborg, who filed for personal bankruptcy in June 2002, allegedly commingled $24,886.64 in employee contributions owed to the plan with the company’s general assets and used the plan’s assets to pay the operating expenses of the company from July 1994 to December 1997.
The Birger Nyborg & Co., Ltd. Profit Sharing and Cash or Deferred Plan was established in 1986 to provide retirement, death or disability to company employees. The plan had $305,385.08 in assets and four participants as of Dec. 31, 2001.
Kenneth Bazar noted that employers with similar problems, who are not yet the subject of an investigation by PWBA, may be eligible to participate in the department’s Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP). Participation in the VFCP requires employers to make workers whole but allows them to avoid PWBA enforcement actions and civil penalties as well as any applicable excise taxes. For more information about the VFCP see www.dol.gov/pwba.
Employers and workers can contact the regional office at 312.353.0900 or PWBA’s Toll-Free Employee & Employer Hotline number, 1.866.275.7922, for help with problems relating to private-sector pension and health plans.
(Chao v. Birger Nyborg & Co., Ltd. and Chao v. Birger Nyborg Civil Action No. 02 C 6567) U.S. Department of Labor news releases are accessible on the Internet. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format upon request (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the Central Office for Assistive Services and Technology. Please specify which news release when placing your request. Call 202.693.7773 or TTY 202.693.7755.
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