A participant in a pension scheme, known as a 401(k) plan, which was offered by The Estee Lauder Companies is suing the US prestige cosmetics firm as well as the plan’s record keeper and custodian after US$99,000 was withdrawn from her account without her authorization, according to a report published by Pensions & Investments.

Complainant Naomi Berman filed a suit in the US District Court of San Francisco earlier this month. She claims that the respondents had breached their fiduciary duty by failing to notify her of any withdrawals or seek authorization for the distribution of plan assets. Berman was told by the record keeper’s customer service center that no money had been recovered and her plan would not be compensated for the unauthorized withdrawal.

When contacted by Pensions & Investments, Lauder declined to comment on the case, as did the other two respondents.