Mechanicsburg Doctor and Owner of Two Medical Facilities Charged with Embezzlement from Employee Pension Plan

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that a Mechanicsburg doctor and owner of two Central Pennsylvania medical facilities was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Harrisburg on charges he embezzled funds from an employee pension plan.

According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Dr. Timothy Clark, age 43, is a medical doctor and pulmonologist and the sole owner of Central Pennsylvania Pulmonary Associates (CPPA) and Sleep Disorder Centers of Central Pennsylvania.

In 2005, Clark established the Central Pennsylvania Pulmonary Associates 401(k) plan for the benefit of his employees. The employees contributed to the 401(k) plan by having funds withheld from their paychecks. Clark, as the owner of CPPA and the trustee of the 401(k) plan, was responsible for forwarding the withheld funds from the employee contributions and depositing into their 401(k) plans.

From on or about July 2010 through December 2011, it is alleged that Clark withheld the employee contributions and maintained them in bank accounts he controlled. Clark employees have allegedly lost approximately $25,000 of their retirement funds.

Clark was taken into custody Wednesday and appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Martin C. Carlson. Clark is scheduled to be arraigned on June 19, 2012.

If convicted, Clark faces a maximum term of five years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

The case was investigated by the United States Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration; the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph J. Terz.

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An indictment or information is not evidence of guilt but simply a description of the charge made by the grand jury and/or United States Attorney against a defendant. A charged defendant is presumed innocent until a jury returns a unanimous finding that the United States has proven the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt or until the defendant has pled guilty to the charges.