Investors in the Agway Inc. 401(k) plan in DeWitt, N.Y. will receive $8,590,000 in a settlement achieved by the U.S. Department of Labor. Plan officials and the Agway board of directors also face fines, and stipulations regarding future management of employee benefit funds, as the plan was severely mishandled in this case. In violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, fund managers invested heavily in Agway securities set at overly high prices. Participants in the plan were also misled about the fund's investments. A total of 4,080 participants had invested in the fund, which was worth $50 million in all.
See "U.S. Labor Department recovers $8.6 million for workers in settlement involving Agway 401(k) plan in New York", Market Watch, October 22, 2008