Woman Stole Pension Money From Oakland Company

OAKLAND, CA — A former pension benefit plan trustee in Oakland was sentenced to a year of probation and ordered to pay more than $200,000 for stealing employee benefits, U.S. Department of Labor officials announced Tuesday.

Lisa Marie Rossi previously worked as the operating manager and trustee for Oakland-based metal refinisher E-D Coat Inc.'s profit-sharing plan.

Federal investigators with the Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration found that Rossi unlawfully and willfully removed $66,049 from the plan's accounts and used the money for unauthorized purposes, knowing that the funds were owed to plan participants.

Federal prosecutors charged Rossi with once count of theft from the plan, to which she later pleaded guilty.

She was ordered to pay $234,271 in restitution and to serve one year of probation for violating federal
criminal statutes pertaining to plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Rossi has also been barred from serving as a fiduciary or service provider to a covered employee benefit plan for 13 years, according to U.S. Department of Labor officials.

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock