Guards at the jail where Jeffrey Epstein was held fell asleep and failed to check on him for about three hours when he is believed to have killed himself, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Several law enforcement and prison officials familiar with the matter confirmed reports that the two guards falsified records to cover up their mistake, according to the newspaper.

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Both guards were placed on administrative leave Tuesday, the same day the Justice Department announced it ordered the Bureau of Prisons to temporarily reassign the warden at the Manhattan federal prison.

Epstein, who was accused of sex trafficking, died of apparent suicide Saturday morning.

He was placed on suicide watch after another incident weeks earlier. The day after he was deemed no longer a threat to his own life, the disgraced financier was found.

Recent developments have triggered questions about the circumstances of Epstein’s death and massive scrutiny of the conditions at the detention facility.

Various reports have described the federal jail as being short-staffed.

Epstein had been held at the detention facility since July 6, when he was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges.

He was a registered sex offender following an earlier conviction in 2008.

His death cuts short a high-profile criminal prosecution, though Attorney General William Barr Bill BarrHillicon Valley: Subpoenas for Facebook, Google and Twitter on the cards | Wray rebuffs mail-in voting conspiracies | Reps. raise mass surveillance concerns Bipartisan representatives demand answers on expired surveillance programs YouTube to battle mail-in voting misinformation with info panel on videos MORE has insisted that prosecutors would continue their investigation into the allegations against Epstein.