A 15-month prison sentence has been handed an insurance consultant who used employee IRA contributions to operate his Pella, Iowa-based life insurance consulting company, Van Elsen Consulting.
According to U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt, James Van Elsen, owner of Pella-based Van Elsen Consulting, was sentenced June 21. Van Elsen’s wife, Beth, a secretary for the business, was sentenced to 12 months home confinement.
The case against the Van Elsens began in 2006 when a former employee complained to the U.S. Labor Department the company withheld retirement contributions from his paychecks but hadn’t forwarded the money to an IRA retirement account.
The Van Elsens argued at trial they were trying to save a failing business and hadn’t acted with criminal intent.
Prosecutors claimed the Van Elsens withdrew about $213,000 from company accounts during the time employee contributions weren’t being deposited into IRA accounts.
Information from: The Des Moines Register
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