Couple indicted for stealing $14.5 million from retirement plans

A Dallas federal grand jury indicted a couple Wednesday for allegedly stealing $14.5 million from retirement plans they ran and using the funds for business and personal expenses. Jeffrey Richie, 53, and Wendy Richie, 58, co-owners of Vantage Benefits Administrators, were charged with conspiracy, theft, wire fraud and identity theft. From 2014 until October 2017, they allegedly misappropriated funds from about 1,000 participants in at least 20 retirement plans for which they served as the third-party administrator. The scheme involved Ms. Richie making withdrawals from the funds' custodian by posing as various plan participants. The money was deposited in Vantage bank accounts and used to pay Vantage payroll and other expenses or finance personal spending by the couple, including mortgage payments on their home in Red Oak, Texas, as well as interior design work and farm equipment. If convicted on all 12 counts, the Richies could spend up to 81 years in federal prison. "This couple took advantage of innocent people who were working hard and saving for their future," U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox said in a statement. "We cannot permit such brazen financial misconduct to go unchecked." The Richies were not immediately available for comment.