By Jeff Burnside and Scott Zamost

---

One of the country's biggest security firms was under fire again Monday in Broward County, where the company provides security at the county courthouses.

Related Content: Video

This followed an NBC 6 investigation detailing similar allegations.

A whistleblower lawsuit against Wackenhut was filed late Monday afternoon by a former security guard supervisor at the Broward County courthouse.

He claimed he was fired for speaking out about over billing taxpayers, just as others told NBC 6 in the original investigation, "A Question of Security."

"I knew too much and I questioned it," Leo Echevarria said. "If I didn't question it, I would still be there. But it wasn't right."

Echevarria said he got fired because he knew too much about Wackenhut, under contract at the main Broward County courthouse and three satellite locations.

Padded timesheets, billing taxpayers for guards who weren't even on the job -- It wasn't there to stop those who try to smuggle guns and knives into court.

"Open posts are a very big problem," Echevarria said. "I'll give you an example. If we are supposed to have eight people at the main door and we only have five, we can't conduct a complete search."

So, the former Wackenhut captain -- well-paid and highly commended, who managed Wackenhut courthouse payroll and scheduling -- filed a whistleblower lawsuit Monday, claiming he was fired "as a consequence of his reporting, objecting to, and refusing to participate in the fraud."

Similar whistleblower lawsuits were filed in Miami-Dade County where Wackenhut has a contract to guard the Metrorail. Portions of a preliminary county audit there found more than $12 million in questionable billing, which Wackenhut disputed.

"When I heard that, I was like 'Wow, this is similar to what's going on here,'" Echevarria said.

A Broward County official who can speak only about the Wackenhut contract at the satellite courthouses was aware of the allegations, but said there was no over billing.

However, the whistleblower lawsuit claimed Wackenhut "over billed for time not actually worked by guards. Specifically, guards reported to their posts hours late, left hours early, and, in some cases, never reported to work."

"I'm just a taxpayer, OK?" Echevarria said. "My money's paying for this. So I see that I'm paying for something that's not there. So, yes, it bothers me a lot. And it always has. And I guess that's why I became a thorn in their side."

Wackenhut told NBC 6 that Echevarria was fired because he broke rules. It said Echevarria's allegations of fraudulent billing were reviewed by Wackenhut and Broward County Sheriff's Office and found to be "without merit."