Dual investigations begin into allegations of payroll fraud in St. John School security
ST JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH, La. May 25 2019 Authorities in St. John Parish have begun two investigations into payroll fraud allegations involving school security.
The sheriff says it’s still early in his investigation but he promises to get to the bottom of it.
One week after Fox 8 first got word of possible payroll fraud in the St. John Parish school system, the superintendent launched an investigation.
“Received a call yesterday from the sheriff which prompted us to begin investigation on this end,” said St John school superintendent Kevin George.
The investigation involves at least one of the sheriff’s office employees who work part time as a school resource officer. George and Sheriff Mike Tregre want to know if anyone falsified payroll sheets as a school resource officer by indicating they were working when they were not on campus.
“We are looking at our entire process to see if work is being done as agreed-upon,” said George.
Tregre confirms his office is conducting its own investigation. He told Fox 8, “If something took place I’ll deal with it.”
School board member Ali Burl confirms that he received a phone call on the payroll fraud allegations but for now the investigation is being conducted by the superintendent and not the full board.
“It’s just one school but I don’t know how many individuals we are looking at. We’re looking at the entire program,” said George.
The sheriff says they will examine GPS records of school resource officers over several months to determine if they were on campus when they say they were.
St. John School Superintendent Kevin George says that he is not aware of any security problems as a result of possible payroll fraud. He promises a thorough investigation and appropriate action if necessary.
WVUE
