Politics & Government

U.S. Labor Department Demands West Chester Firm Pay $661,000

The Labor Department orders Compass Capital Partners Ltd. and owner Harris M. DeWese to restore $661,206 to the defunct West Chester company's retirement plan.

According to the U.S. Labor Department, a summary judgement made against Compass Capital Partners Ltd. would require the company and its former owner to pay over $600,000 to the defunct West Chester company's pension plan.

The Labor Department says:

The suit resulted from an investigation by the department's Employee Benefits Security Administration, which found that DeWese withdrew funds from the plan eight times from October 2006 to October 2007 and deposited them in his personal account and a Compass Capital Partners bank account. DeWese then used the plan funds to pay the company's operating expenses and also transferred a portion of them to Tampa, Fla.-based Hillsboro Printing, a company in which DeWese was a shareholder. Compass Capital Partners ceased operations, and the plan was unable to pay benefits to retired participants as a result of DeWese's actions.

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"These actions show a flagrant breach of fiduciary responsibility," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employee Benefits Security Phyllis C. Borzi. "We will continue to hold plan sponsors and other responsible parties accountable when they fall short of their legal obligation to protect the hard-earned savings of plan participants."

To read the complete story please click the link: here.

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