Payment marks one of the largest civil recoveries in the history of the Mississippi Auditor’s Office
State Auditor Shad White has announced that Management & Training Corporation (MTC), a private prison company, has tendered over $5.125 million back to the state.
“I’m pleased the work of our investigators led to this large recovery for Mississippi’s taxpayers,” said White. “We are always willing to take the biggest, most complex cases to ensure our bosses, the taxpayers, are protected.”
White’s office started investigating MTC in 2021 when allegations arose that MTC was not providing the prison staff required by their contract with the state. Investigators found MTC failed to provide the minimum mandatory staff to ensure the safety of inmates and prison employees but were still paid by the state as if they had. In November 2022, White issued a $1.9 million demand to MTC based on an analysis of one of the three prisons MTC operated in the state. White pledged to continue the investigation into the other two prisons operated by MTC.
Last week, MTC voluntarily tendered over $5 million back to the Mississippi Department of Corrections as a result of the investigation. The recovery marks one of the largest in recent years. White’s office previously investigated a large pharmacy benefit manager, which resulted in a $55 million recovery—the largest civil recovery ever following a Mississippi Auditor investigation.
“We will continue investigating the MTC matter to ensure the amount the company remitted is the full amount they owe the people,” said White. “Every penny must be accounted for.”
The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, which makes decisions on suing or prosecuting cases, has the State Auditor’s findings from the November investigation.
