Denton County fire chief arrested, charged for stealing nearly $500,000
ARGYLE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - A Denton County fire chief has been arrested and charged with stealing nearly $500,000 from his department and accused of failing to properly fund firefighters' retirement accounts.
Federal prosecutors say Chief Mac Hohenberger spent the department's money at casinos, on a family member's business in Hawaii and other personal expenses.
A former firefighter says when he spoke up about problems he was noticing, he was fired.
Eric Robertson is currently suing Hohenberger on behalf of a former firefighter at Emergency Services District No. 1, which provides fire and EMS services to Argyle and neighboring towns.
"He realized there were some issues related to the 401K," Robertson said. "He went to the chief's office. The chief looked him in the eye, said stay in your effing lane and get out of my effing office."
Hohenberger was the sole administrator for the department's 401K, according to documents.
"You have a right to ask questions about your 401K fund," he said. "You have a right to talk to your boss if the money that's on your paystub isn't showing up in your 401K account."
His client, he says, was fired shortly after that.
"The Chief didn't want anybody looking into the 401K records," Robertson said.
Robertson says an audit shows money was being deducted from firefighters' paychecks for 401K payments, but not always being deposited into their retirement accounts.
According to the civil lawsuit, all the finances were maintained by Hohenberger. On more than one occasion when Hohenberger was out of town on a payday, AVFD's employees were not paid until several days after Hohenberger returned to town.
"He missed 18 payments over 24 months, both to my client and every firefighter for whom I've been given records," Robertson said.
A federal indictment accuses Hohenberger of taking money from the department's operating accounts as well, which received federal funds in the form of medicare reimbursements.
In response to their chief's arrest, the Argyle Professional Firefighters Association said online:
"For more than a year, we have strongly supported an independent investigation of allegations that Argyle firefighter retirement contributions were mismanaged or are missing due to misconduct by members of the fire department administration…
Make no mistake, public servants have been personally harmed by these actions and we hope for a swift and fair investigation."
Chief Hohenberger is also accused of lying to the Department of Labor about those 401K payments.
While some FBI agents searched his office in Argyle on Thursday, others were arresting him at DFW Airport, where he was returning from a trip to Las Vegas.