The Department of Labor is seeking to remove Encorium Group Inc. as fiduciary of its 401(k) plan, for failure to conclude a plan termination.
DOL officials are asking the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia to appoint an independent fiduciary who can distribute $966,752 in assets to 33 participants.
The Encorium Group Inc. 401k Profit Sharing Plan & Trust was established in 1996 by its predecessor company, Covalent Group. Encorium ceased operations in October 2009 and sold its U.S. assets to Pierrel Research, which did not assume responsibility for the plan. Encorium started but did not complete the plan termination process, and participants have been unable to access the assets, according to the DOL's civil complaint filed Sept. 30.
A DOL investigation found that since 2009, neither the company nor any of its former officers have taken fiduciary responsibility for the operation and administration of the plan. The plan's assets are held by State Street Bank and Trust.
