The owners of Vantage Benefits Administrators have been sentenced by a federal judge for their role in a $15 million embezzlement scheme—and it seems fair to say he “threw the book” at them.
Vantage Benefits Administrators co-owners Jeffery Richie, 55, and his wife Wendy Richie, 59, pled guilty to several counts in federal court for their role in the aforementioned embezzlement scheme in June. In November 2017, the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the offices of Vantage Benefits Administrators “amid concerns that money may be missing from retirement accounts the company manages.” Founded in 1993, Vantage Benefits described itself as a full-service TPA specializing in corporate benefit programs, with a focus on small plans (under $10 million).
Citing plea papers, a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas says that Ms. Richie admitted to using fund beneficiaries’ personal information to submit $15.2 million in fraudulent distribution requests to Matrix Trust, the funds’ custodian. However, rather than depositing those funds into beneficiaries’ accounts, she instead transferred it into Vantage’s operating account, and then into personal bank accounts. At least $6.2 million of the $15.2 million Ms. Richie embezzled was taken with Mr. Richie’s knowledge, according to a former employee of the firm.
In all, the pair admitted to more than 90 unauthorized distribution requests from 13 pension plans and 7 retirement plans from 2014 and 2017.
As for the sentences, Jeff Richie was sentenced to 87 months in prison (the maximum), 3 years of supervised release, and directed to pay restitution of $7,445,000.00. Wendy Richie was sentenced to 132 months with 3 years of supervised release. The pair are to report to federal prison on January 5.
Scott Hayes, President and CEO of ISC Group, Inc.—whose advisors had more than 400 clients with 403(b) assets from which the Richies stole money as part of their scheme—commented: “I am very grateful for the work that the Department of Justice and the United States
Attorney’s office put into this case and for Judge Lindsay who clearly grasped the extent of the damage they caused by imposing the maximum sentence available under the law. Jeff and Wendy Richie exploited a vulnerability that still exists in the private retirement system that allowed them to steal the hard-earned retirement savings of public servants. They are finally paying the price for their crimes and now that this ugly chapter is closed, it is time for us to turn our attention to addressing the systemic gap in regulatory oversight and accountability that enabled them to commit these crimes.”
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