Employees of Obsolete Company to Receive $571,000 in Retirement Funds

A San Clemente man agreed to restore nearly $571,000 in retirement funds for former employees of his now-defunct Aliso Viejo-based electrical contracting firm to settle a civil lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor, the federal agency reported today.

A federal judge signed off on the settlement May 30, according to Deanne Armaden, a spokeswoman for the Department of Labor.

Mark Dell Donne, former chief executive officer and president of Journey Electrical Technologies Inc., has already restored $98,748 to 401k plan, she said.

Between January 2004 and March 2008, some of the money covered under the settlement was put in the company's general funds rather than the 401k account, according to the government's court papers. The plan had 105 employees participating and a balance of more than $1.9 million as of the end of 2010, the latest information available, according to the Labor Department.

Dell Donne is no longer a plan trustee, and an independent fiduciary will collect and pay out the assets in the 401k plan.

"We are pleased to be able to secure these retirement funds for the company's former employees," said Phyllis C. Borzi, assistant secretary of labor for employee benefits security.

"Employees working on government construction or service contracts are often unaware of the benefits they are entitled to under prevailing wage laws, including fringe benefit payments to their employee benefit plans," Borzi said. "Plan fiduciaries have a legal responsibility to ensure that this money is property deposited in employee accounts."

—City News Service