United States v. Alexandria West - On June 3, 2011, Alexandria West was sentenced in federal
district court in Maryland to 60 months’ probation and was ordered to repay $76,608. West had pleaded
guilty in December 2010 to one count of theft or embezzlement from an employee benefit plan. West
operated two businesses, the West Financial Group in Bethesda, Maryland, and West Pension Solutions
in Towson, Maryland. Employees of both firms contributed to the West Agency 401(k) Profit Sharing
Plan through payroll deductions. Between August 2008 and November 2009, West failed to remit
$76,608.66 in employee contributions to the plan, and instead used these funds for personal expenses.
Twelve employees were affected.
The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office in Greenbelt, Maryland, and investigated
by the Washington District Office of EBSA.
United States v. Kimberly Hill - Kimberly Hill, the former accounts payable manager for Wildwood
Industries, was sentenced on December 9, 2010 to 40 months' incarceration and a subsequent three years
of supervised release. The sentence, issued by the Federal District Court for the Central District of
Illinois, required Hill to restore $76,894.06 to 174 individual employees. These employees had
contributed to their benefit plans through payroll deductions but did not receive their plan benefits.
Hill had pleaded guilty in March 2010 to federal charges of conspiracy to committing mail fraud, wire
fraud, bank fraud, and theft from an employee benefit plan. Wildwood Industries, located in
Bloomington, Illinois, was owned by Gary and Toni Jo Wilder. The company manufactured lawn, leaf,
and vacuum bags as well as other products. Wildwood sponsored a 401(k) plan and a health, dental, and
disability plan for its employees.
Kimberly Hill's theft from the employee benefit plans was part of a larger criminal scheme. The
Wilders, along with Hill and several other co-conspirators, engaged in a massive scheme to defraud 85
banks, lending institutions, and private lenders of over $213 million dollars. Only Hill was charged with
actual theft of employee benefit plan funds. As the accounts payable manager, she had failed to forward
funds worth over $200,000 withheld from employees' payroll checks for the benefit of these plans. Hill's
actions left the plans facing approximately $140,000 in outstanding medical claims.
EBSA’s Kansas City Regional Office investigated the case with the Department of Labor's Office of
Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, the FBI, Postal Inspectors, IRS-Criminal Investigations
Division, and the FDIC. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Central
District, Illinois.
United States v. Anthony A. James - On September 9, 2010, Anthony A. James, an investment
advisor who operated James Asset Advisory, LLC (a Michigan corporation), was sentenced in federal
district court to 163 months of imprisonment followed by 60 months of supervised release. The court
also ordered James to pay $2,667,762 in restitution to his victims. James had been convicted on April 15,
2010 on seven counts of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud, and one count of embezzlement from an
employee benefit plan.
From 2001 through June 2009, James had received over $5,300,000 from more than 40 investors. A
portion of these funds had come from ERISA-covered contributory employee benefit plans. James
would meet with his clients to assess their investment goals and risk tolerances. He assured them that he
would invest their funds in securities, bonds, and mutual funds for their benefit. James created
fraudulent individualized asset allocation reports suggesting investment options, backed by bogus
quarterly account statements which appeared to track the investors' money as though it had actually been
invested. In fact, James used investors' money to operate a Ponzi scheme; instead of investing the