The U.S. Department of Labor has secured a default judgment against Dierkes Heating and Air LLC, operating as Dierkes Heating and Air Inc., and its owner Todd Dierkes. The judgment, issued by the U.S. District Court of Minnesota on September 12, 2024, mandates the restoration of $9,259 to the company's SIMPLE IRA Plan for losses stemming from unremitted and untimely remitted employee contributions.
The court's decision requires the plan’s custodian to offset $9,259 from Todd Dierkes' individual account to cover the plan's losses. Additionally, it permanently bars the Waite Park, Minnesota-based company and Dierkes from serving as fiduciaries or service providers to any other ERISA-covered employee benefit plans. They are also removed from any current fiduciary positions within their own plan.
In July 2023, following an investigation by the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), a lawsuit was filed alleging that the retirement plan’s fiduciaries had improperly retained employee salary deferral contributions in the company’s corporate bank account for up to 354 days before remitting them to the plan. It was further alleged that these unremitted contributions were used to pay for general operating expenses of Dierkes Heating.
“The court’s action restores salary contributions that participants in the Dierkes Heating & Air SIMPLE IRA plan believed were contributed to their retirement accounts and earning interest to prepare for their future,” said EBSA Regional Director Mark Underwood in Kansas City, Missouri. “Failing to forward employee contributions to employee retirement plans violates the trust placed in fiduciaries and directly impacts plan participants’ retirement savings.”
Employers and workers seeking assistance with private sector retirement and health plans can contact EBSA toll-free at 866-444-3272.
