Administration May 12, 2009

Guilty Plea Expected from West Coast Placement Agent in Pension Probe

May 12, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Wall Street Journal is reporting that an associate of the indicated political operative charged in the ongoing New York pension pay-to-play investigation is expected to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and agree to cooperate in the investigation.
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According to the Journal, quoting unnamed sources,Julio Ramirez, 48, is the second person in the two-year-old probe to plead guilty and the sixth to be criminally charged. The newspaper said the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is working with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in the investigation, is also expected to announce civil charges against Ramirez.

Both Ramirez and Hank Morris, the indicted political adviser charged in the pension probe, are placement agents who earn fees from private equity or hedge fund firms in exchange for securing a pension investment management mandate (see  Report: Auto Czar’s Investment Firm Focus of Pay-to-Play Probe ).

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Ramirez, based in the Los Angeles area, is pleading guilty for his participation in a series of fraudulent transactions between Morris and others, the Journal quoted its anonymous sources as saying.  

According to the Journal, Ramirez’ guilty plea comes in connection with dealings between Morris and a Los Angeles-based placement agent firm called Wetherly Capital Group (see  Harrigan Resigns from LA Pension Board ), as well as a Dallas-based firm called Aldus Equity Partners (see DiNapoli Sues Aldus over Pay-to-Play Scheme ).

The news report indicated that Ramirez recommended to Wetherly in 2003, where he was then employed, that the firm work with Morris to get pension business, according to a Wetherly spokesman.

Wetherly has not been accused of wrongdoing.

Separately, Ramirez told Saul Meyer in 2004, founder of Aldus Equity, that Aldus should hire Morris if it wanted help securing money from New York’s state pension fund, according to people familiar with the matter, the Journal reported.

Meyer last month was charged with securities fraud in the case by the New York attorney general. He has pleaded not guilty.

Products May 11, 2009

ING Announces Intent to be 403(b) Prototype Plan Provider

May 11, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - ING U.S. Retirement Services (ING), provider of K-12 and higher education 403(b) retirement plan products and services, has notified the IRS of its intention to file an opinion letter application as a Section 403(b) prototype plan sponsor.
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ING said in an announcement that it anticipates its letter would be filed as soon as the IRS begins accepting applications from retirement plan providers seeking favorable determinations on their prototype plan documents.

“School systems across the country can be confident that the prototype we develop will satisfy the Internal Revenue Service’s written plan requirements and be updated as needed to reflect tax law changes, helping to meet the ongoing retirement needs of our school systems,” said Linda Segal Blinn, vice president of Technical Services at ING, in the announcement.

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The 403(b) prototype plan program will allow eligible employers to adopt a pre-approved plan and have assurance that the form of the plan meets all 403(b) regulatory requirements. The IRS announced the program on April 14.

Robert J. Architect, IRS Senior Tax Law Specialist, told PLANSPONSOR 403(b) Summit attendees that determination letter reviews for the prototypes could begin as soon as the first quarter of 2010. (see IRS Releases Proposed 403(b) Prototype Document Program ).

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