NCJ Number
91124
Date Published
1982
Length
734 pages
Annotation
This testimony chronicles the categories of fraud and abuse in pensions and related employee benefit plans, explores the techniques involved, and exposes the weaknesses in the pension and welfare benefit system which permit such abuses.
Abstract
Testimony indicated that trustees of pension funds have siphoned off millions of dollars through such devices as kickbacks, phony insurance schemes, fraudulent loans, and plain theft. Testimony also reviews the effectiveness of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act in combating fraud and abuse in connection with employee pension funds. The Department of Labor is empowered to oversee the proper handling of the funds and to maintain a program of investigations and prosecution to prevent the misuse of this money. A number of witnesses testify to the apparent inability or unwillingness of the Labor Department to use its mandated power to combat pension fund fraud and abuse, particularly in unions. Some testimony supports S. 1785, which increases criminal penalties for violations of the Taft-Hartley Act and provides for the immediate suspension of convicted persons from union positions. The bill further delineates the responsibility and authority of the Labor Department to detect, investigate, and refer for prosecution any evidence of criminal activities in benefit and pension plans. Testimony is presented from victims of pension fund abuse, a participant in such abuse, and from State officials involved in investigations of pension fund fraud and abuse. Supplementary material is appended.