CHICAGO-The U.S. Department of Labor has sued wireless company Meade Communications Inc., of Berkeley, Ill., for failing to remit employee contributions and loan repayments to the company’s 401(k) plan.
The lawsuit alleges that the company and James Hartmann, president of the company and plan trustee, failed to remit employee contributions and loan repayments to the plan’s investment accounts in a timely manner on numerous occasions from Jan. 6, 1998, to Jan. 16, 2001. The withholdings allegedly were commingled with Meade’s general assets.
“This case seeks to require the defendants repay the losses, including interest, and asks to have Hartmann’s individual plan account offset to accomplish the restoration,” said Ann Combs, assistant secretary of the Employee Benefits Security Administration.
Meade’s plan had $1,376,250 in assets and 27 participants as of Dec. 31, 1999, according to Chicago’s Office of Public Affairs.
