State auditor sends demand letter to private prison
Published 9:10 am Monday, November 14, 2022
State Auditor Shad White has announced that Special Agents from his office have served Management & Training Corporation (MTC) with a civil demand totaling nearly $2 million after the company failed to follow the terms of its contract to operate the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) facility in Marshall County. The total demand amount—$1,991,774.10—includes interest and investigative costs.
As part of its contract to operate the MDOC prison in Marshall County, MTC developed minimum mandatory staffing levels to ensure the safety of inmates and prison staff. The Auditor’s investigation revealed MTC failed to appropriately notify and credit MDOC when its staffing levels at the Marshall County facility fell below the minimum amount required by the contract. The Auditor’s demand accounts for nearly 12,000 unfilled mandatory shifts at the Marshall County facility from 2017 to 2020.
“This is one of the larger demands we’ve issued in my time in office. Our investigators have proven we will take on the biggest cases down to the smallest to protect taxpayer dollars,” said Auditor White. “We look forward to a swift recovery of these funds.”
If MTC does not make payment on the demand within 30 days, the case will be transmitted to the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office for litigation.
Suspected fraud can be reported to the Auditor’s office online at any time by clicking the red button at www.osa.ms.gov or via telephone during normal business hours at 1-(800)-321-1275.