Compliance April 24, 2013

IRS to Discuss 401(k) Questionnaire Findings

April 24, 2013 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is hosting a phone forum to discuss findings from its 401(k) Compliance Questionnaire.
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The “401(k) Compliance Check Questionnaire Final Report” covers plan form and operational issues compiled from data provided by 401(k) plan sponsors (see “29% Chose Deferral Higher than Default”). Monika Templeman, director of Employee Plans Examinations; Joyce Kahn, acting director of EP Rulings and Agreements; and Janice Gore, EP area manager, will highlight findings from the report, as well as next steps plan sponsors can take—including outreach, guidance and compliance projects—during a phone forum on May 13 at 2 p.m. Eastern time.

They will also discuss a new self-audit tool that aims to help 401(k) plan sponsors avoid costly mistakes.  

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Those who register and have a specific matter that they would like to be addressed should e-mail ep.phoneforum@irs.gov by May 6.  

Registration is here.
Compliance April 24, 2013

Doctor Pleads Guilty to 401(k) Embezzlement

April 24, 2013 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A doctor and owner of two medical facilities pleaded guilty to embezzlement from an employee benefit plan.
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The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Timothy Clark pleaded guilty on April 22 in federal court in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, before U.S. District Judge Christopher C. Conner. Clark, who is the sole owner of Central Pennsylvania Pulmonary Associates (CPPA) and Sleep Disorder Centers of Central Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to embezzlement from an employee benefit plan, executing a scheme to defraud health care benefit programs in connection with the delivery and payment of healthcare benefits and money laundering.

Clark is scheduled for sentencing on July 29, 2013.

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In June 2012, Clark was indicted on charges that from July 2010 through December 2011, as CPPA’s owner and trustee of the company’s 401(k) plan, he withheld employee 401(k) contributions and failed to deposit the withheld funds into their 401(k) plan. Clark instead maintained the employee 401(k) contributions in bank accounts that he controlled, causing his employees to lose approximately $25,000 of their retirement funds.

In July 2012, Clark was indicted on charges that from December 2007 through September 26, 2008, Clark, who provided critical care services to patients of Holy Spirit Hospital, intentionally inflated the amount of time the health care providers he employed spent with each patient, thereby fraudulently inflating the health insurance claims he submitted to Medicare, Highmark, Inc., and Capital Blue Cross. The dollar amount of the fraudulent claims exceeded $500,000. In the indictment’s six money laundering counts, Clark was charged with transferring approximately $103,000 obtained through the health care fraud to CPPA payroll and money market accounts.

Both cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph J. Terz. 

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