BATON ROUGE – The owners of a LaPlace hauling and demolition company were arrested earlier this month in connection to a workers’ compensation insurance scam, according to a release from the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

Hardell and Leslie Francois Mack, husband and wife owners of Mack & Mack Demolition and Hauling LLC, were arrested by agents from the state Attorney General’s Office. They were booked on counts related to the willful misrepresentation that they carried required workers’ compensation insurance.

The company is accused of providing fraudulent documents to LWC regarding the status of its workers’ compensation insurance. The owners indicated the company had an insurance plan when it did not.

“The Louisiana Workforce Commission is committed to protecting the integrity of the workers’ compensation system by investigating and prosecuting not only the injured worker who receives benefits fraudulently but also the employer who willfully fails to provide the security necessary to ensure that benefits are paid when due,” LWC Executive Director Curt Eysink said in a statement.

“The agency’s efforts to crack down on workers’ compensation fraud this year have already resulted in three criminal referrals, of which two were workers and one employer, and four arrests of employers.”

According to the release, in 2011 LWC made 24 criminal referrals, of which 20 were workers and four were employers. The agency assessed $318,500 in compliance penalties and 16 people were arrested, two employers and 14 workers.

If convicted, the Macks, who reside in LaPlace, could face up to 10 years in prison plus fines of up to $250 for each day they were found in violation of the requirement to provide their employees with workers’ compensation coverage or both. The company has been in business since 2010.

For more information or to report suspected acts of workers’ compensation fraud, contact the Office of Workers’ Compensation’s Fraud Division at 1-800-201-3362 or visit www. laworks.net.