401(k) plan trustees sentenced to prison for embezzling more than $487,000 from Shelbyville, Ky., company

WASHINGTON − Following a plea agreement entered in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, William H. Kiser and Mary Sue Kiser, trustees of the Irotas Manufacturing Co. Inc. 401(k) Plan, have been sentenced to 15 months in prison and three years of supervised release for embezzling funds from the plan. The Kisers also have been ordered to pay restitution.

The sentence resolves a lawsuit based on an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration Cincinnati Regional Office, which found violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher L. Nasson.

EBSA’s investigation revealed that the Kisers, who owned Irotas Manufacturing Co. Inc. in Shelbyville, Ky., embezzled a total of $487,138.08 from the now-defunct company’s 401(k) plan for their own use between June 17 and Aug. 14 of 2008.
 
“This sentencing underscores the Department of Labor’s resolve to aggressively pursue those who steal from employee benefit plans,” said L. Joe Rivers, EBSA’s regional director in Cincinnati. “We will continue our commitment to investigating thefts from employee benefit plans under our Contributory Plans Criminal Project, which targets those individuals who threaten the retirement and health benefits of American workers.”  

Workers in employer-sponsored health and retirement benefit plans who feel that they have been denied a benefit inappropriately, or have questions about benefits laws, can contact an EBSA benefits adviser by visiting www.askebsa.dol.gov or calling 866-444-EBSA (3272).

U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille, audio tape or disc from the COAST office upon request by calling 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755.