The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a consent judgment with MSES Consultants Inc. and its owner, Lawrence Rine, to address unpaid employee medical claims. The resolution follows allegations of fiduciary breaches related to the company's Employee Health Plan.

The Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration discovered that more than $187,000 in health claims had not been paid, affecting plan participants and beneficiaries who were entitled to these benefits as employees of the now-defunct engineering consulting firm.

As part of the consent judgment, MSES Consultants Inc. and Rine are required to fund an independent fiduciary tasked with investigating the unpaid claims and ensuring any outstanding amounts are settled. Additionally, both parties have been removed as fiduciaries and are permanently barred from future violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) or managing ERISA plan assets.

"Fiduciaries are required by law to always act in the best interest of plan participants and beneficiaries. When they fall short of this obligation, the U.S. Department of Labor will use all available tools to hold them legally accountable," stated Samantha Thomas, Regional Solicitor of Labor in Philadelphia.

The case was handled by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia in Clarksburg under docket number 1:23-cv-00055-TSK-MJA.

For assistance with issues related to private sector retirement and health plans, employers and workers can contact EBSA toll-free at 866-444-3272.