A North Carolina man gave officers a false name during his arrest – and now three prison workers face charges, officials said.

When the man was taken into custody on March 25, he is accused of lying and telling authorities he was his brother, Jackie Hunt, 40, of Fairmont. At the time, Hunt worked for the Robeson County Detention Center in Lumberton, about 100 miles south of Raleigh.

Now, a month later, officials say an investigation found Hunt and two colleagues put the brother in jail under the false name, even though they knew who he really was. All three were “arrested and charged with criminal conspiracy for identity theft, aiding and abetting and obstructing justice,” according to the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office.

MPs in an April 20 news release did not list information about Hunt’s lawyer or the two other jail officers, identified as Warren Phillips, 50, of Lumberton, and Tina Jones, 51, of Pembroke.

The sheriff’s office said the events unfolded after a task force arrested Hunt’s brother for drug possession, “driving while his license was revoked and carrying a concealed weapon after a traffic stop”.

During his arrest, the man is accused of having “fraudulently” given the agents information about his brother. He was “later transferred to the Robeson County Detention Center by Jackie Hunt, Phillips and Jones and bound under the false name as officers knew” his true identity, according to deputies.

“Every employee of the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Facility must follow state laws,” Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said in his department’s news release. “These officers are held to a higher standard and have been sworn to uphold the rules, regulations and laws of this state. It is a proven fact that I will not tolerate stupidity.

Hunt’s brother was arrested again on April 16 and given $95,000 bond. Detention officers were issued $500,000 unsecured bonds, according to the sheriff’s office.