DOL Hits Hutcheson with ERISA Violation
The Department of Labor filed a complaint against Matthew Hutcheson of Eagle, Idaho, an independent fiduciary and plan trustee, for a violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
The complaint, filed in a federal court in Idaho, alleges that toward the end of 2010, Hutcheson used more than $3.2 million of the retirement plan savings of workers from multiple employers for personal expenses and in an attempt to purchase an interest in the Tamarack Resort–a failed ski and golf resort in Idaho. This prohibited transaction has left affected retirement plans with insufficient funds to pay participants all the benefits owed.
Hutcheson also faces a separate criminal indictment in connection with the same transaction.
The department seeks to remove Hutcheson and other named defendants as fiduciaries of the affected plans, and to appoint an independent fiduciary to administer them. In addition to Hutcheson, defendants include Hutcheson Walker Advisors LLC; Green Valley Holdings LLC; and the Retirement Security Plan and Trust, formerly known as the Pension Liquidity Plan and Trust.