Arizona CEO pleads guilty to stealing $8.8M from employee benefit plan

A Scottsdale, Arizona, man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Maryland to embezzling more than $8.8 million from an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) benefit plan, the Justice Department announced.

James Vincent Campbell, 49, pleaded guilty to one count of theft from an ERISA plan in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, according to the department.

Campbell is the CEO and founder of Axim Fringe Solutions Group LLC, a company that processes employee benefits for workers at federal contractors, according to court documents cited by the department. Axim was headquartered in Maryland when the thefts began. Campbell moved it to Scottsdale in January 2022, where the department said he continued the scheme.

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Court documents state that Axim’s clients sent the company money to cover health insurance premiums and 401(k) retirement contributions, which Axim was responsible for forwarding to insurance carriers and retirement accounts. According to the department, Campbell pooled those funds in a master trust account before sending them on. Between 2015 and 2024, he made 135 unauthorized withdrawals totaling $2,486,905, beyond the legitimate fees Axim was owed, the release said.

The department said Campbell spent a significant portion of the stolen money on personal expenses, including big-game hunting trips in Alaska, Africa and elsewhere, taxidermy fees, jewelry, casino gambling and direct payments to his girlfriend. After relocating Axim to Arizona, he continued the thefts by secretly charging clients up to five times the fees they owed. In all, the department said, Campbell converted more than $8.8 million from Axim’s clients through both master-account withdrawals and repeated excessive fee charges.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said workers have a right to trust that their wage contributions will reach their health plans and 401(k) accounts. Instead, Duva said, Campbell stole from those accounts and put more than $8 million into his own pocket. Duva said the Criminal Division is proud to partner with the Department of Labor in uncovering and prosecuting the fraud.

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employee Benefits Security Daniel Aronowitz said private pensions make up a large portion of Americans’ wealth. He said the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will keep pursuing those who try to steal pension assets and thanked the Justice Department for its continued partnership.

Campbell faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, the department said. U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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EBSA investigated the case. Trial Attorney Vincent Falvo of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section is prosecuting it.

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