Trustees of a 401(k) plan in Shelbyville, Kentucky, have been sentenced to 15 months in prison and three years of supervised release for embezzling more than $487,000 from the Irotas Manufacturing Co. Inc. 401(k) Plan. William H. Kiser and Mary Sue Kiser, who own the company, also have been ordered to pay restitution. The embezzlement took place between June 17 and Aug. 14, 2008.

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.

"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."