Waite Park HVAC Company Ordered to Repay $9,259 for Mishandling Employee Retirement Funds

(KNSI) – A Waite Park HVAC company has been ordered to repay its employee retirement plans after being found to misshandle workers contributions.

In July 2023, the United States Department of Labor filed a lawsuit after an investigation by the Employee Benefits Security Administration alleged Dierkes Heatng and Air failed to act as fiduciaries by keeping employee contributions in the company’s corporate bank account for up to 354 days, then moving the money into the retirment plan. The company also allegedly used the contributions to pay general operating expenses.

The company must repay $9,259 for losses incurred by workers on their retirement accounts due to the loss in investment growth. The judgment also permanently bans the company from serving as fiduciaries or service providers to any other employee benefit plan.

According to a press release, “The court’s action restores salary contributions that participants in the Dierkes Heating & Air SIMPLE IRA plan believed were contributed to their retirement accounts and earning interest to prepare for their future,” said Employee Benefits Security Administration Regional Director Mark Underwood in Kansas City, Missouri. “Failing to forward employee contributions to employee retirement plans violates the trust placed in fiduciaries and directly impacts plan participants’ retirement savings.”

According to court documents, Dierkes Heating and Air owner Todd Dierkes failed to plead or otherwise defend the company. The Department of Labor filed a motion for default judgment in June, to which Dierkes filed no opposition or other response. A hearing was held, and no one representing the company appeared.

A default judgment was granted on Thursday.

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