An Atlanta-based architecture and interior design firm must restore $540,658 to its employee stock ownership plan under a federal court order.
An investigation and legal action by the U.S. Department of Labor resulted in TPP Holdings Inc., doing business as The Preston Partnership LLC, and CEO Robert N. Preston restoring the funds to TPP's employee stock ownership plan, according to an Oct. 27 news release.
“The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring the integrity of employee benefit programs and holding those who violate the law accountable,” Isabel Culver, Employee Benefits Security Administration regional director in Atlanta, said, according to the release.
The court order by U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross in the Northern District of Georgia ensured funds were restored to employees eligible in the stock ownership plan, Culver said, according to the release. The fiduciaries who were responsible will be held accountable for their bad-faith decision that harmed the plan’s viability in the overpriced purchase of stock, he said.
The federal court upheld the Labor Department's findings that a fiduciary must run a plan with its primary responsibility being its participants and beneficiaries’ sole interest, Regional Solicitor of Labor Tremelle Howard in Atlanta said, in the release. Howard said all steps are necessary, including court action, “to hold fiduciaries responsible for prudent plan management.”
