Federal agency investigates Tamarack suitor

BOISE - The U.S. Department of Labor is investigating complaints over how the would-be buyer of Tamarack Resort oversaw retirement plans for investors who say they don't know where their money is.

Matthew Hutcheson, an independent fiduciary from Eagle, Idaho, who made a $40 million offer for Tamarack last year, confirmed Thursday he'll meet with Department of Labor officials next week.

During an hour-long interview with The Associated Press, Hutcheson said the investigation involves people who complained about their ability to access at least $300,000 in retirement plans that he oversaw as a trustee. Hutcheson acknowledged a "liquidity event" with the funds dating back to 2009 that has tied up the money but insists the matter will be resolved.

He declined to describe the issues to the AP, adding he hasn't told those who have lodged the complaints what's happening with their money, either.

"I understand the concern that causes," Hutcheson conceded. "Once I've talked to the Department of Labor and we've sorted through all this, I will provide all the details on this."

Hutcheson gained attention in Idaho last November when he offered $40 million for Tamarack, a resort 90 miles north of Boise whose owners ran out of money in 2008. The resort defaulted on a $250 million construction loan from lenders including Credit Suisse Group.

So far, Hutcheson hasn't been able to complete a transaction but says he's still interested in buying the assets at a foreclosure auction.

Michael Shimizu, a spokesman for the Department of Labor in Seattle, confirmed his agency is investigating complaints about Hutcheson's work as a trustee for retirement accounts. The agency has a policy of not commenting on ongoing enforcement actions, Shimizu said.

The agency's Employee Benefits Security Administration helps regulate more than 718,000 private retirement plans, 2.6 million health plans, and about 2.5 million welfare benefit plans holding over $6.5 trillion in assets.

Hutcheson said he oversees "hundreds" of retirement funds but said other investors shouldn't be worried about the issues that prompted the Department of Labor investigation.

"This is an isolated situation," Hutcheson said. "There's no pattern here."

He said he's no longer the trustee of plans where the concerns arose but said he has a legal obligation to remedy problems that occurred on his watch.

One of the complaints came from Hawaii, where an investment manager helping a small Cuban restaurant, Soul de Cuba, with its 401(k) plan took his concerns to state regulators as well as the Department of Labor after employees no longer had access to about $25,000.

The money was invested in a Salt Lake City-based plan called G Fiduciary, with Hutcheson as trustee. G Fiduciary has since changed its name to Benefit Guard.

Cris Borden, the investment manager, said Hutcheson has offered multiple explanations.

"Matt has not distributed money to a former participant of the G plan who terminated employment ... and has requested a distribution of his 401(k) savings in the amount of $3,000," Borden said. "He has only distributed $600 so far. I have repeatedly asked Matt for proof that the funds exist in the G plan. He has yet to give me a definitive answer."

A Hawaii investigator has forwarded the complaint to Idaho's attorney general.

Another came from North Carolina dentist David Novak, who said he chose G Fiduciary to invest about $275,000 from an office 401(k) plan with Hutcheson's help. Novak said neither he nor his six employees have had access to the money since last year, when Hutcheson indicated it was being shifted to another plan.

That prompted Novak to complain to the Department of Labor in Atlanta.

"He touts himself to be the No. 1 fiduciary in the country," Novak said Thursday. "When somebody doesn't tell me where my money is at, something is wrong."

G Fiduciary's Dan Peterson said Hutcheson unilaterally transferred money from the plan. Peterson said he's cooperating with Department of Labor officials in their probe.

"I am confident that the DOL will take every appropriate action to remedy any wrongs, and we are doing everything we can to help with their efforts," Peterson said.

On his website, Hutcheson says he's a leader among the nation's independent fiduciaries, financial industry professionals that care for the retirement funds of small businesses and others.

He testified before Congress in 2010, something Hutcheson has used to underpin his credentials as he's sought to buy Tamarack.

Separately, Hutcheson has failed to repay a $425,000 loan he received earlier this year. Consequently, he risks losing a $3 million mortgage on Tamarack Resort's golf course that he had pledged as collateral for that loan.

And on Wednesday, the AP reported Hutcheson faces claims that he owes $350,000 from bad checks, unpaid employees' wages and for work that contractors did on his Eagle home.

Hutcheson disputes some of those claims, saying he's the target of a smear campaign by a former consultant who also wants to buy Tamarack.

Scott Turlington, a former Tamarack lobbyist who worked with Hutcheson on his buyout offer until August, has founded a separate Idaho company and is working with new investors on a potential Tamarack transaction.

Turlington said he's seeking restitution for two bounced checks from Hutcheson totaling $51,000 and filed a police report in Boise in August.