In a post on the DOL’s blog, EBSA’s Phyllis Borzi boasts that the agency “protected or recovered” more than $1.2 billion in FY 2012 “for workers who participate in private-sector employee benefit plans and their beneficiaries.” Most of this total was reported for participants in 401(k) or similar retirement account plans, as well as employee stock ownership plans.
Borzi provides a breakdown of EBSA’s civil and criminal enforcement actions in FY 2012:
• 3,566 civil investigations were closed.
• 2,570 of those civil investigations uncovered ERISA violations.
• 100 resulted in lawsuits filed to recover assets for plan participants.
“And through working with the Justice Department, as well as state or local prosecutors, 117 individuals were indicted for criminal actions related to an employee benefit plan, such as stealing from 401(k) accounts to fund company operating budgets or pay for personal expenses,” Borzi notes.
What are your thoughts about this? Use the comment box below.
