The suit, brought on behalf of the Pittsburgh-based Board of Trustees of the Steamfitters Local 449 Retirement Security Fund and a nationwide class of similar funds, alleges that Austin failed to prudently invest the benefit funds' assets, in violation of Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA").

Bernard Madoff was arrested on December 11, 2008 and charged with running a $64 billion fraud known as a "Ponzi scheme," in which early investors thought they were receiving returns on investment, but were in fact being paid with the investment money of later investors.

The complaint alleges that Austin was a fiduciary to the class of benefit funds and owed them the duty to manage investments with the highest care. Instead, the complaint alleges, Austin failed to notice the numerous red flags about the Madoff-related securities. These included:

a. the lack of transparency in the operations of Madoff and Madoff Securities, including Madoff's refusal to disclose his investment strategy;

b. the fact that investment returns of Madoff Securities were abnormally smooth, with very little volatility, including only five months of negative returns in the past 12 years;

c. the inability of other funds, using Madoff's stated method, to generate returns in any way comparable;

d. the fact that Madoff acted as his own prime broker, while most hedge funds used large banks as their prime brokers;

e. the fact that monthly account statements sent to Madoff investors did not support the returns being supposedly earned;

f. the fact that Madoff's auditors consisted of one office in Rockland County, New York, with three employees: one was 78 years old and lived in Florida, and one was a secretary.

The complaint notes that numerous other investment managers did discover the red flags and declined to invest in Madoff-related securities.

The suit also names as defendants individual officers and managers at Austin as well as its affiliated companies, KeyCorp, Victory Capital Management, and Austin Capital Management GP Corp. Plaintiffs seek to represent all employee benefit plans that used Austin as an investment manager and lost money due to Austin's purchase of Madoff-related securities.

If you are a trustee or fiduciary of an employee benefit plan in the United States, you can contact Spector Roseman Kodroff & Willis, P.C. at classaction@srkw-law.com for a more thorough explanation of the case and how you may have been harmed. You may also call Ted Lieverman at the firm's toll-free number, 888-844-5862. Even if you have relatively modest losses, a class action lawsuit can protect your rights at no cost to you.

Spector Roseman Kodroff & Willis, P.C., a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania law firm, concentrates its practice in class action and complex litigation, including actions dealing with securities laws, antitrust, contract and commercial claims, and labor and employment. The firm is active in major litigation pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States, including claims for participants of employee benefit funds under ERISA and other laws. The firm's reputation for excellence has been recognized on repeated occasions by courts which have appointed the firm as lead counsel in numerous major class actions. As a result of the efforts of the firm, billions of dollars have been recovered through judgments and settlements on behalf of class members.

For more information about the firm, visit its website at http://www.srkw-law.com.

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