Aliera, Steele alleged to have paid more than $100M to themselves, affiliated businesses
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a judgment barring a plan administrator and its CEO Shelley Steele from serving as fiduciaries or service providers to any plan covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, amid allegations they improperly paid themselves and affiliated businesses more than $100 million.
The action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia follows an investigation by the Philadelphia, Atlanta and Boston regional offices of the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration. The investigation found The Aliera Companies, doing business as Aliera Healthcare Inc., and Steele commingled hundreds of millions of dollars in funds received from individuals and ERISA-covered health plans.
Based in Atlanta, Aliera created, marketed, sold and administered health coverage for approximately 1,025 employers across 39 states for ERISA-covered employer-sponsored plans. The company and its CEO serve as fiduciaries to more than 1,000 U.S. employer-sponsored health plans.
“Shelley Steele and The Aliera Companies flagrantly violated their duties as fiduciaries by failing to act solely in the interest of plan participants and their beneficiaries,” said Acting Regional EBSA Director Norman Jackson in Philadelphia. “This judgment should serve as a warning to other fiduciaries who choose to place the interests of themselves over the...
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