A Wife Fights for Ex-Husbands Pension Plan With the Government

A man in South Dakota was sentenced to jail for steal $5.6 million from 3M Corp, and his wife is now fighting to receive her half of his pension plan while the government seeks to use it to pay for his compensation. Now that her husband is in jail for a long period of time, Linda Beulke is filing for a divorce because she claims that she knew nothing of her husband’s schemes. Currently her attorney is arguing that she has the right to half of his pension and retirement plans. Clint Sargent, her attorney, claims that Beulke and her husband agreed in the beginning stages of their marriage that she would remain a stay at home mother so that she could care for their home and raise the children.

As a result of that decision made years ago, she was unable to work and collect her own retirement income throughout the time of their marriage. Now as a 65 year old woman, her chances of starting one are very unlikely. David Beulke worked for the company that he scammed as an engineer, and reports say that he created false projects and companies in order to receive personal payments from clients for parts and supplies that the buyers near actually received. Apparently his schemed took place over a 15 year time period in which he was never caught.

In 2010, David Beulke pleaded guilty to his crimes of fraud and was sentenced to spend four years in jail as a result. The U.S. Attorney’s office claims that they want his entire pension, even though he has paid back more than half of the stolen funds. While there is no decision made yet, under the divorce law of South Dakota the assets are to be equally shared in the event of a divorce, because of this the government is technically unable to seize half of his pension until after the divorce is finalized and the wife has received her share of the divided assets. If you or someone you know is looking to file for a divorce, contact the Jacksonville divorce attorney at Hutchinson Law today for the legal counsel you deserve.