Former employees at the closed Rape and Victim Assistance Center of Schuylkill County will receive their retirement contributions.
The default judgement from the U.S. District Court for the Middle of Pennsylvania on Aug. 6 removed the former Pottsville nonprofit as fiduciary and appointed Metro Benefits Inc., Pittsburgh, to administer the plan and distribute the assets to the plan participants and beneficiaries before terminating the plan.
The action follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration of the Pottsville nonprofit that ceased operations and terminated all employees in 2009.
The center sponsored a retirement plan that currently has five participants and about $10,854.89 in assets. The department filed a complaint on April 2 to appoint a firm to terminate the plan and distribute its assets to the remaining plan participants.
The center closed in 2009 after Mary Beth Semerod stole $205,883 from the organization while serving as its executive director. The Lebanon-based Sexual Assault Resource and Counseling Center took over the functions of the organization when it closed.