The disturbing saga of Dallas-based Vantage Benefits Administrators is closer to a form of resolution, as husband and wife proprietors Jeffrey and Wendy Richie pled guilty Tuesday to their roles in a $15 million retirement plan embezzlement scheme.
The U.S. Attorney said Wendy Richie admitted to two counts of theft from an employee benefit plan and one count of aggravated identity theft. Jeffrey Richie pled to two counts of aiding and abetting theft from an employee benefit plan. Their company served as third party administrator for dozens of pension and retirement funds.
According to plea papers, Wendy Richie admitted to using fund beneficiaries’ personal information to submit $15.2 million in fraudulent distribution requests to Matrix Trust, the funds’ custodian.
Instead of depositing the money into beneficiaries’ accounts, however, she transferred it into Vantage’s operating account, then into personal bank accounts.
Even after a Vantage employee confronted Jeffery Richie about his wife’s conduct, Wendy Richie continued to embezzle money from the funds. At least $6.2 million of the $15.2 million was taken with Jeffrey Richie’s knowledge, he admitted.
Serious jail time
In total, the pair admitted to submitting more than 90 unauthorized distribution requests from 13 pension plans and seven retirement plans from 2014 and 2017.
“This couple took advantage of innocent people who were working hard and saving for their future,” U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox said in October 2018 when the couple was charged. “We cannot permit such brazen financial misconduct to go unchecked.”
Wendy Richie now faces up to 12 years in federal prison, while her husband faces up to 10 years. They may be required to pay restitution as well as a $500,000 fine.
The Department of Labor–Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the Texas State Auditor’s Office conducted the investigation.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
