Two transport employees with the Iberville Sheriff's Office have been fired and face criminal charges after they committed fraud on their timesheets, officials said.
“Just because you work with law enforcement, we are not above the law,” Sheriff Brett Stassi said. “I think that this information, the way I handle this, will send a clear information to anybody else that this will not be tolerated.”
Melissa Johnson and Lansing Snell received about $6,127 in fraudulent pay, according to a report from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor. District Attorney Tony Clayton’s office charged them with malfeasance in office.
Johnson pleaded guilty in September and was sentenced to one year's probation and $1,021.11 in restitution. Snell has a motion date later this month, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
As part of the sheriff’s transport service, the former employees drove Iberville Parish residents to doctor’s visits, the grocery store and other appointments.
The transportation program employs both a driver and rider, who helps passengers in and out of the vehicles. From January to April last year, both employees were present to drop off passengers at their destination, but only one was there for pickup.
After an investigation, Stassi said, he learned the employees were taking turns for the pickup run while claiming both were working.
“(Passengers) would be delivered by both, but they said they found it strange that they would only be picked up by one,” Stassi said.
State auditors classified the incident as a significant deficiency in the internal control of the sheriff, meaning the office’s lack of supervision of timesheets affected its ability to reliably report its finances.
To address the lack of supervision of hours worked, the office hired a new supervisor to check timesheets and implemented a different pay system for transport employees to record hours, Stassi said.
“I expect my people to be held to a slightly higher standard than most,” Stassi said. “We want to make sure that we live up to what we expect.”