A lesson in trust and the timely remittance of deferrals.
The CEO of a nonprofit mental-health agency in Ohio is under fire for “a serious issue relating to 401(k) benefits for [its] employees” according to a memo from the board of directors.
“The center has failed to keep its commitment to our staff,” the board lamented.
The CEO, Mark Travis, took over for his predecessor in 2008 after the latter was indicted on a charge of filing false income-tax returns. Travis has been suspended for one week and the board of directors will meet to determine his employment status moving forward.
The Columbus Dispatch reports that the trouble began when Travis allegedly directed $40,000 of salary deferrals from employee paychecks to cover the center’s operating expenses.
The president of the board, Eric Coss, told the paper he was aware of other issues involving Social Security withdrawals also being mishandled, but claimed those were clerical errors, not intentional. He also conceded that the organization has had difficulty recovering from a fiscal crisis eight years ago.
“It is an extremely serious violation of both the employees’ trust and a violation to the community,” he said.
He noted that only nine of about 85 center workers are enrolled in the 401(k) program.
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.
