John True is a Senior Vice President and Fiduciary Consultant in Argent Trust Company’s Kansas City and Atlanta offices, where he advises on fiduciary governance, ERISA compliance, and ESOP-related matters. He supports trustee decision-making on complex transactions, plan oversight, and risk management.
John brings more than two decades of experience with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), most recently serving as Deputy Regional Director for Legal and Compliance Operations. In that role, he oversaw the resolution of more than 230 ERISA matters involving fiduciary breaches and governance issues, helping restore approximately $242 million to employee benefit plans.
He offers an enforcement-informed perspective on fiduciary risk, service provider oversight, and regulatory exposure, helping clients make well-supported, defensible decisions. John has also advised plan sponsors on correcting fiduciary and operational failures through DOL and IRS correction programs and has extensive experience training fiduciaries on ERISA duties and best practices.
He earned his J.D. from the University of Missouri–Kansas City and holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Northern Iowa. He is licensed in Missouri and Kansas and holds the Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) designation.


