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U.S. v. Eriksen (9th Cir. - March 9, 2011)

By Shaun Martin

Judge Smith begins his opinion by saying:  "Defendants-Appellants Sigmund Eriksen and Raymond Eriksen appeal their convictions stemming from their misappropriation of employee 401(k) contributions to pay their company?s operating expenses."

Which made me think:  "Hmmm.  I wonder what their sentences will be?  Personally, I think that stealing from your employees' retirement plans is pretty darn serious.  A lot more serious than other crimes; e.g., stealing a slice of pizza.  I bet the ERISA criminal penalty provisions are pretty harsh.  Rightly so."

So I was perhaps surprised to learn, halfway through the opinion, that they were only sentenced to two years of probation, a $20,000 fine, and 240 hours of community service.

I was perhaps even more surprised that, by the time I reached that part of the opinion, I didn't necessarily think that sentence was overly light.  Certainly wasn't too harsh.  But maybe not all that evil.

Check out the facts and see if you agree.

Full post as published by California Appellate Report on March 09, 2011 (boomark / email).