Wharton alumnus Jeffrey Perelman filed a lawsuit against his father, School of Medicine trustee Ray Perelman, and brother, University trustee Ron Perelman, alleging that his father improperly invested funds from a pension plan — with which they were involved — in a company Ron controls.
According to the complaint, filed in federal district court at the end of last month, Jeffrey is suing his father and brother on the grounds of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. The suit claims Ray invested funds from the plan in bonds for Revlon — a cosmetics company in which Ron is a controlling shareholder — at a time when Revlon “required a cash infusion.”
The suit asserts that the investment was concealed from the pension plan participants.
Also named as a defendant in the suit is Philadelphia businessman Jason Guzek, who, according to the complaint, was an administrator of the plan from 2006 to 2008. During those years, Ray was a trustee of the plan, according to the suit.
The suit seeks an order instructing the return of any profits made or losses suffered by the pension plan that resulted from directing funds into Revlon.
The Perelmans have long invested in and financed many Penn developments and projects, including the Perelman Quadrangle, named after Ron, the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, named after Ray and his wife Ruth, and several other projects across Penn’s professional schools.
The defendants have yet to file any responses to the complaint. A spokeswoman for Ron Perelman declined to comment on the suit due to the fact that it is ongoing.
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