ESOP Fiduciary and Procedural Checklist
Whether you are an ESOP fiduciary or doing diligence on a company that sponsors an ESOP, it is worth considering the itemized list of fiduciary standards and processes that the Department of Labor has imposed in settling recent ESOP litigation. See this Wagner Law Alert.
2018.10.04 Reliance Trust Settles DOL Claims. See this article reporting as follows --
- The consent judgment requires Reliance Trust to pay $4,545,454 back to the plan within 30 days. Once the payment is made, the Department will assess a civil penalty of $454,545 against Reliance Trust Co. Inc.
- Investigators in the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) found that, in May 2011, the owners of Tobacco Rag Processors Inc. sold 100% of the company stock to the plan for $82.5 million, purportedly for the benefit of the employees. The EBSA determined the sales price of the company’s stock exceeded fair market value and that Reliance Trust Co. Inc., as plan trustee, did not determine the sales price in good faith.