A Weld County worker is suing meatpacking giant JBS USA Food Co. Holdings, alleging the company failed to properly oversee an investment option in its 401(k) savings plan, costing thousands of workers millions of dollars in retirement savings.
JBS USA has a large processing plant and its North American headquarters in Greeley.
Jerome Ziegler alleged the company and the JBS Investment Committee failed to “prudently monitor” and replace the plan’s stable value option, known as the Guaranteed Interest Fund by Empower, which consistently underperformed against industry benchmarks and other plans.
The plan lost at least $4.7 million between 2020 and 2024, with losses continuing to accrue, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Denver.
The fund was one of the plan’s largest investments, averaging about $51 million during 2019 to 2022. It was designed to protect retirement savings from market fluctuations while still earning interest.
The complaint compared the Guaranteed Interest Fund with three benchmarks: the published Stable Value Index, the three-month U.S. Treasury bill identified in the committee’s investment policy statement and rates by other plans.
The lawsuit alleged the fund consistently underperformed those benchmarks and that the committee acted imprudently by keeping it without further investigation. The filing also stated the fund was already underperforming in 2019.
The lawsuit said the committee could have recognized the problem and replaced the fund if it had followed its investment policy.
Ziegler was a participant in the plan and held a portion of his individual account in the fund until the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the complaint.
Ziegler is seeking to recover the alleged losses on behalf of all participants who invested in the Guaranteed Interest Fund, replace the fund, remove fiduciaries who allegedly breached their duties and require JBS to review the plan’s investment options going forward.
Senior Partner Gary Klinger, with Chicago-based law firm Milberg, is representing Ziegler.
Klinger and representatives from JBS did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication.
JBS is a global food company with 250 facilities across more than 20 countries, selling products in 180 countries, according to its website.
Get more business news by signing up for our Economy Now newsletter.
Read more US cybersecurity agency releases election infrastructure plan 40 days before midterms
Read more Former IRS agent laundered drug money through Denver tax business, indictment alleges
Read more Deputy’s night-vision drone spots 4 mountain lions close to Nederland school
