ARGYLE, Texas — An Argyle fire chief who was convicted of stealing from his employees' pension fund has been sentenced to serve 50 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
In addition to his prison sentence, Troy Mac Hohenberger was ordered by a federal judge to pay $509,807.50 in restitution and $28,048.34 in forfeiture.
Denton County Emergency Services District No. 1 said in a statement published following the sentence that the Board of Commissioners, new fire chief and administrative staff have worked to ensure accountability and transparency in the future.
"Today's decision markets a significant moment in the Board's efforts to uphold integrity and accountability in public service for the citizens of our communities," the statement reads.
As the chief of what was then called the Argyle Fire District, Hohenberger had control of employee contributions to their retirement accounts. Federal prosecutors allege some of that money went into an Argyle Fire Operating Account instead, and that Hohenberger used it as an account for his personal expenses.
Prosecutors said Hohenberger from 2018 to 2021, "accessed, stole, used, embezzled, and willfully abstracted and converted funds from the AFD Operating Account for his own needs and purposes... to pay the balances owed on his personal credit cards."
Hohenberger was also accused of fraud and making false statements, claiming on forms required by the Department of Labor that he had transferred retirement funds to the proper accounts when prosecutors allege he had not.
