San Francisco, California – The United States Department of Labor has secured a default judgment against Paul G. Fillet DMD Inc. and Dr. Paul G. Fillet for illegally withdrawing over $85,000 in retirement funds from employees of an employer-sponsored plan and abandoning the plan, leaving two participants without access to approximately $160,000 in retirement savings.
The complaint was filed on January 12, 2023, by the Regional Solicitor of Labor in San Francisco, following an investigation that found Fillet withdrew over $85,000 from the retirement plan for unauthorized purposes, violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued a default judgment against Fillet and his practice on January 2, 2024. Additionally, it appointed AMI Benefit Plan Administrators Inc. of Youngstown, Ohio, as an independent third-party fiduciary for the retirement plan.
The court permanently prohibited Fillet from acting as a fiduciary of any employee benefit plan covered by ERISA. Furthermore, it held him liable for monetary losses and ordered the restitution of the funds to the retirement plan by March 4, 2024.
The investigation revealed that in April 2020, Fillet’s practice closed without distributing the remaining assets of the retirement plan, abandoning the plan in violation of the law. Fillet was found to be the sole authorized fiduciary to distribute the assets.
Paul G. Fillet has failed his legal obligations and continues to evade his responsibilities towards his workers.
This violation of Retirement Laws underscores the importance of protecting employees’ retirement funds and taking action against those who fail to fulfill their fiduciary duties.
If you have information on the whereabouts of Paul G. Fillet, please contact the EBSA regional office in San Francisco at 415-625-2481.
