Report: Company Forged Prisoner Work Documents

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana's inspector general says documents that allowed state prisoners to participate in certain work release programs were forged by employees of a private company that contracts with parish sheriffs.

Inspector General Stephen Street released the report Monday, detailing its investigation of Louisiana Workforce LLC, a company that runs work release facilities for inmates in four parishes.

Street's report says two employees at the company were involved in altering dates and forging signatures on the work release agreements required by the state Department of Corrections. The report says 68 documents appeared to have been altered so they could pass inspection by corrections department auditors.

The owner of the company, Paul Perkins, says he has changed policies because of the investigation. He says one of the employees named in the report was suspended for 10 days without pay and the other employee for 15 days.