JACKSON — Mississippi State Auditor Shad White on Thursday demanded more than $7.4 million from private prison operator Management & Training Corporation, saying the company failed to provide staffing required under its contracts with the state.
The Mississippi Office of the State Auditor said the civil demands have been referred to the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office for enforcement in court.
White said his office began investigating MTC after allegations that the company was not providing the prison staff required by its contracts with the state. Investigators found that MTC failed to provide minimum mandatory staffing levels intended to help ensure the safety of inmates and prison employees, but billed the state as though those requirements had been met, the auditor’s office said.
The auditor’s office issued three separate demands: $462,299.32 tied to staffing credits invoiced to the Mississippi Department of Corrections for the East Mississippi Correctional Facility; $959,240.06 for the Marshall County Correctional Facility; and $6,002,027.92 for the Wilkinson County Correctional Facility.
“This is one of the largest civil demands made in the history of the Auditor’s Office,” White said. “We’re now turning this case over to the AG’s Office for enforcement to ensure accountability for taxpayers, and I hope they will litigate the case immediately.” He added, “I don’t care how big of an out-of-state company you are or how many campaign donations you make to the other politicians, if you owe taxpayers money because you failed to live up to a contract with government, we will demand you pay it back. No free rides on the backs of taxpayers.”
Management & Training Corporation is a private company that operates correctional facilities under contract with state and local governments. The matter has been referred to the attorney general’s office for possible court action. This is a developing story and will be updated as more details emerge.
