EXETER — In response to a Department of Labor suit, A.J. DesJardins Roofing Company Inc., of Exeter, has agreed to restore almost $33,000 to its employees 401(k) retirement plan.

The department’s suit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Concord, alleged that the business’ owner, Albeo DesJardins Jr., who was also the trustee of the plan, violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by withholding 401(k) contributions from his employees’ wages, but never putting the money into the plan.

“Such breaches of fiduciary duty will not be tolerated,” James Benages, regional director of the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) in Boston, wrote in a Feb. 25 press release. “Employers cannot withhold plan contributions from employee paychecks and then use that money for the own purposes, and this case demonstrates that we will not hesitate to enforce the law through litigation when necessary.”

DesJardins, however, claims the violation was simply an error.

“It was a mistake, and it was my mistake,” DesJardins said.

The roofing company owner said he decided to set up a benefits program that included a 401(k) plan when his business began to take off several years ago. At that time he hired someone whose job it was to manage the plan, and DesJardins said things were running well for three to four years.

“That employee left, and I thought I could run (the program) myself and I couldn’t,” he admits. “I can put roofs on, but I couldn’t handle the thousands of pages of paperwork.”

The mismanagement came to light, DesJardins said, when his employees unanimously voted to close down the plan. He said he simply did not know how to do that.

The company owner said he was more than a little frightened about being called down to Boston for a meeting with EBSA officials, but said he didn’t need to be.

“They were very understanding and very helpful,” he said. “The told me how much I needed to pay back and I did.”

Despite the tone of the Department of Labor’s press release, A.J. DesJardins Roofing and its owner were not required to pay any fines or penalties, the company’s owner said.

“I’m not running from anything,” he said. “I made a mistake, and now it’s taken care of.”

As part of the agreement with the EBSA, DesJardins repaid $32,700 to the plan, and distributed the plan’s assets to participants and their beneficiaries. DesJardins must furnish proof of that distribution to the EBSA, must properly file any future reports with the agency and is barred from serving in a fiduciary capacity to any ERISA-covered plan in the future.