Attorney Who Set Up and Administered VEBA and Welfare Benefit Plans Found Liable Under ERISA

This article examines the case of Perez v. Koresko, in which defendants set up over 500 multiple-employer death benefit plans with entities they controlled acting as the trustees. The Department of Labor brought a civil action alleging breach of fiduciary duty and mishandling of funds through a complex network of entities and accounts established and controlled by the defendants. Finding numerous acts of fraud and self-dealing, the court imposed a lifetime ban prohibiting defendants from serving in any capacity with authority over an employment benefit plan; and required defendants to repay $19,852,115.