State Auditor Shad White has announced that Management & Training Corporation (MTC), a private prison company, has paid back over $5 million to the state.
In 2021, the auditor’s office began investigating MTC after allegations that staff was not being provided to contracted prisons. Investigators found MTC failed to provide the minimum mandatory staff to ensure the safety of inmates and prison employees but were still paid to the fullest by the state.
In 2022, White demanded MTC pay $1.9 million based on an analysis of one of the three prisons operated by the company. Last week, MTC officials voluntarily tendered over a $5.125 million check to the Mississippi Department of Corrections as a result of the investigation.
“I’m pleased the work of our investigators led to this large recovery for Mississippi taxpayers,” White said. “We are always willing to take the biggest most complex cases to ensure our bosses, the taxpayers, are protected.”
White added that the clawback was one of the largest since he took office in 2018. The Republican plans to continue investigating MTC to make sure nothing more is owed.
“We will continue investigating the MTC matter to ensure the amount the company remitted is the full amount they owe the people,” White said. “Every penny must be accounted for.”
