United States Attorney Richard B. Roper
Northern District of Texas

JURY CONVICTS DALLAS BUSINESSMAN ON CHARGES THAT HE
EMBEZZLED NEARLY A HALF MILLION DOLLARS
FROM A RETIREMENT PENSION FUND

DALLAS – After a three-day trial before U.S. Senior District Judge Jerry Buchmeyer in federal court in Dallas last week, late Friday, the jury convicted William B. Wofford on all 10 counts of a superseding indictment charging embezzlement from an employee pension benefit plan, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper. Wofford faces a maximum statutory sentence of 50 years in prison, a $2.5 million fine, and restitution. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Buchmeyer on December 14, 2007.

Wofford was the owner of Premier Consulting, Inc., (Premier), that sponsored the Premier Employers Group 401(k) Plan. Premier was a company that was in the business of leasing employees back to the companies for which the employees worked. Companies that hired Premier would no longer employ their own workers. Instead, Premier would employ the workers, and the clients of Premier would then lease the employees back from Premier. One of the benefits Premier offered was a 401(k) plan, known as the Premier Employer’s Group 401(k) Plan.

The government presented evidence at trial that from April 28, 2003 through October 6, 2004, Wofford embezzled approximately $482,805 from the Premier Employer’s Group 401(k) Plan. Although he paid some of the money back, the government presented evidence that at the time the criminal investigation began, there were still more than 300 unpaid beneficiaries of the plan to whom Wofford owed more than $330,000.

Roger Hilburn, Regional Director of the United States Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration, in Dallas, Texas, said, “This case illustrates this agency’s commitment to the aggressive criminal investigation of those individuals and organizations who prey upon America’s work force. We will use all available resources to track down and prosecute perpetrators who commit these crimes."

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the investigative efforts of U.S. Department of Labor - Employee Benefits Security Administration - Dallas Regional Office and the U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General - Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Phil Umphres and Charles Brown.

# # #