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Release Date: 06/06/2005
Release Number: 05-961-SAN (SF-47)
Contact Name: Deanne Amaden
Phone Number: 415.975.4741
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San Francisco, California - The U.S. Department
of Labor has sued a South San Francisco-based engineering consulting firm,
GKO & Associates Inc, and its president for misusing employee 401(k)
contributions to pay corporate expenses. |
“The Labor Department is committed to protecting the
benefits of America’s workers and retirees,” said Ann L. Combs,
Assistant Secretary of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).
“We will not hesitate to act to hold accountable those who misuse
workers’ retirement assets.” |
The Labor Department suit, filed in U.S. District Court
for the Northern District of California, alleged that company president
James P. Winzler, GKO & Associates, and its successor, GKO Consulting
Engineers, violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by
failing to remit employee contributions to the 401(k) plan in a timely
manner. The violations occurred between January 1999 and May 2004, when
the company ceased operation. |
The suit also names plan trustees Gregg Okamitsu and
Kam Wing Yan as defendants. Okamitsu and Yan are former owners and
officers of GKO & Associates. |
The suit seeks to recover $115,994 in unpaid
contributions plus at least $18,600 in lost earnings. The company’s plan
covered as many as 33 participants and had $276,992 in assets as of March
31, 2004. The suit also seeks to remove Winzler, Okamitsu and Yan as plan
fiduciaries, permanently bar them from serving as fiduciaries, and appoint
an independent fiduciary to terminate the plan and distribute assets to
eligible plan participants. |
Employers
and workers with questions or concerns regarding their private-sector
pension and health plans can contact the EBSA regional office in San
Francisco at 415.975.4600 or EBSA’s toll free number, 1.866.444.EBSA
(3272). Information is also available from the agency’s Web site:
www.dol.gov/ebsa. |
(Chao
v. GKO & Associates)
Civil Action No. CV- C-05-02202 JCS |
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Department's Compliance
Assistance page. |