{"id":1700,"date":"2026-06-04T15:04:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T15:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1700"},"modified":"2026-06-04T15:04:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T15:04:38","slug":"nc-security-firm-filed-false-training-records-for-its-guards-state-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1700","title":{"rendered":"NC security firm filed false training records for its guards, state says"},"content":{"rendered":"

On paper, dozens of security guards at a North Carolina firm completed a state-mandated training course last year. Their certificates for the remote class were signed and uploaded to the state\u2019s registration application website.<\/p>\n

Read more How Jordan Martinook became a piece of the Carolina Hurricanes\u2019 heart and soul<\/a><\/p>\n

The only problem, state officials allege, was that some of them never attended the class.<\/p>\n

Some of the 35 certificates issued for the class were falsified and used for official registration applications by employees using the company owner\u2019s state licensing login credentials, according to an investigation into AJ Security Squared Inc. obtained by The News & Observer.<\/p>\n

The North Carolina Private Protective Services Board<\/a>, which oversees the licensing of private security guards across the state, was already looking into the company last year when it received a tip about the alleged fraudulent documents from Richard Roop-lal, a former employee of the firm.<\/p>\n

Roop-lal contacted the agency after he was fired for allegedly uploading some of the falsified certificates.<\/p>\n

He told state officials many guards didn\u2019t show up for the class \u2014 and that he wasn\u2019t the only one who knew documents were tampered with.<\/p>\n

A protective services trainer hired by AJ Security Squared Inc. was scheduled to teach a two-day remote unarmed guard training course last June. That got truncated to one day at the firm\u2019s request because \u201ceveryone only needed a review of the class,\u201d the trainer told state investigators.<\/p>\n

But when regulators presented her with a list of certificates issued between April and September last year that showed her as the trainer, she \u201cidentified several guards she never taught the class to, along with certificates that were not signed in her handwriting,\u201d according to the investigation.<\/p>\n

She admitted to holding the training class for only one day but submitted both days on the signed certificate, \u201cthus knowing she was falsifying them,\u201d state regulators wrote in their investigation.<\/p>\n

A separate investigation into the trainer is ongoing, NCDPS Private Protective Services Director Paul Sherwin confirmed to The N&O.<\/p>\n

Investigators learned the trainer and another employee signed the certificates and gave them to the people on the training roster who did not attend. One of those people was Roop-lal, the employee who tipped off state officials.<\/p>\n

After reviewing the certificates, the employee said Roop-lal had signed some of the training documents himself, including his own. \u201cThus, the evidence suggests Roop-lal falsified\u201d documents as well, state regulators allege.<\/p>\n

Those falsified certificates were uploaded to the state\u2019s registration platform, according to the employee who told state investigators he witnessed the trainer log in using the company owner\u2019s credentials.<\/p>\n

State investors interviewed Scott Lowell, the firm\u2019s owner, who said he had allowed employees to use his login credentials to file the paperwork.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe explained he works in Florida and travels often and depends on others to enter the applications on his behalf,\u201d investigators wrote in their report.<\/p>\n

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Lowell told state investigators he no longer gives his login credentials out to employees for the purposes of submitting applications. The company is in the process of having the guards retake the training course to satisfy state registration requirements.<\/p>\n

The Private Protective Services Board\u2019s Law and Rules Committee had voiced concerns over remote training options, according to meeting minutes from the group\u2019s March 19 meeting<\/a>.<\/u><\/p>\n

It was directly spurred by the results of the investigation into Lowell\u2019s business. The committee agreed that it may need to review the board\u2019s administrative rules around class size and attendance reporting.<\/p>\n

In-person training classes are capped at 35 students, Sherwin confirmed to The N&O.<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, there is no class size limit for synchronous online courses,\u201d Sherwin said in an email. \u201cBut the Board is amending its administrative rules to set a limit of 35 students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lowell\u2019s AJ Security Squared Inc. has locations in North Carolina, Illinois, New York and Florida, according to its website.<\/a> The company offers guards for security and \u201casset protection\u201d services.<\/p>\n

State officials had identified Roop-lal in an initial audit into the company last year, according to the investigation.<\/p>\n

The May investigation into the company\u2019s Charlotte office last year \u201cidentified ninety-seven (97) guards who had been working security without being registered\u201d as required by state law.<\/p>\n

The violation landed the company in a consent agreement costing $11,873 for the unregistered guards and another $204 for \u201coperating without an in-state qualifying agent for 12 months,\u201d according to the investigation.<\/p>\n

As for the falsified credentials, the board handed down a \u201cformal Letter of Reprimand\u201d to Lowell.<\/p>\n

Any violation of the state\u2019s statute governing security guard licenses can be charged as a Class 1 misdemeanor, Sherwin wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cCriminal charges are rare, but they do happen,\u201d Sherwin wrote. \u201cMost commonly, law enforcement will charge unlicensed armed security guards.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that \u201cpersons or companies may also be charged criminally if they knowingly hire an unlicensed armed security guard.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 7:59 AM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NC regulators allege a security company AJ Security Squared Inc. uploaded fake training certificates. Some of the documents were issued to people who didn\u2019t attend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1699,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nNC security firm filed false training records for its guards, state says - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1700\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NC security firm filed false training records for its guards, state says - Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"NC regulators allege a security company AJ Security Squared Inc. uploaded fake training certificates. 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