9 0 obj NAACP President Derrick Johnson called on the Department of Justice "to aggressively investigate and prosecute those responsible for the massive theft of federal funds that apparently took place in Mississippi in fiscal years 2017 through 2019." (844) 437-6282 Website. Internships The questionable funds included $5 million for a lease agreement for a multi-purpose wellness center that would later become a volleyball stadium, $635,000 for a virtual reality lab that included individuals who weren't identified as needy and $44,000 to retired professional football players for football camps that focused on student-athletes and did not address helping at-risk youth. Both women pleaded guilty to conspiracy and embezzlement. (WLBT) - New information into the largest embezzlement and fraud case in state history involving misspent TANF money - funds meant to help needy families in Mississippi. Knowing what we know now, clearly he should have recused himself and should be recusing himself now.. As for the auditors investigation itself, there are some concerns the conversation was initiated with a phone call to the auditor as a way of legal strategy, said Banks. It wasnt until MDEQ released their notice of violation to us that an emergency could come pursuant to that notice.. The guilty plea was recorded in Judge J. Kelley Luthers courtroom. The attention was drawn from them to the city, he said. Today State Auditor Shad White announced former Coahoma Community College employees Gwendolyn Jefferson and Stacie Neal were each sentenced to serve five years in prison. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. The council and Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars since 2021 on attorneys fees over the citys garbage collections. The council eventually settled with Richards out of court and agreed to pay the company roughly $4.8 million in back pay for work already done, as well as more than $800,000 a month through March 31 this year. Neal also pleaded guilty to making fraudulent statements. Accounting firm CliftonLarsonAllen released a 175-page independent audit looking at fraud claims between Jan. 1, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2019. Deputy Director, Criminal Investigations Division: Mississippi, USA bxxxxxd@osa.ms.gov: Fletcher Freeman: Deputy Director Of Communications: Mississippi, USA . What is the cost of Mississippi deciding not to expand Medicaid? The New's nonprofits received $9.4 million from MDHS from the time the auditor's office began investigating them in July 2019 until Feb. 4, 2020, two days before Nancy and Zack New were charged . JACKSON, Miss. He later added, "when you read this one-hundred-plus page audit, you will see that, if there was a way to misspend money, it seems DHS leadership or their grantees thought of it and tried it. Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, are third-party groups that negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies and drug stores. 8 0 obj Mills voluntarily reduced his hours by so much on our first bill that his effective rate was $183 per hour, and the city is aware of that discount we gave to the city, Scanlon said. An incumbent in this classification is responsible for planning, conducting, and reporting audits and investigations of state and local government programs; thus the incumbent has developed a high level of both technical competence and supervisory proficiency . At Whites swearing in as auditor after he appointed him, Bryant said: When I was auditor, I used to enjoy saying, In God we trust. Commenting on the indictments, State Auditor Stacey Pickering said, "It is a very sad day in Mississippi when two men with a history of public service are charged with blatantly committing crimes to increase their personal fortunes. "In June 2021, the State of Mississippi reached a $55.5 million settlement with the Centene Corporation and their PBM thanks to this investigation," OSA said in the report. If legislators granted the Mississippi Division of Medicaid the ability to review income tax records as part of determining an applicant's eligibility, the agency could cut down on potential fraud, White said. The state auditor investigation division is responsible for the investigation of alleged or suspected violations of Mississippi law, including fraud and embezzlement by public officials related to . k"=z@T We center readers in everything we do, informingand engagingMississippians through reporting, podcasts, events and online communities. If MTC does not make payment on the demand within 30 days, the case will be transmitted to the Mississippi Attorney Generals Office for litigation. State Rep. Chris Bell (D) will serve as the new MLBC Chair as Sen. Angela Turner-Ford (D) chose not to seek the post for another term. At this time, MDHS has no plans to change our engagement with Mr. Piggot in assisting with the continued investigation of the misuse of TANF funds. Transparency April 25, 2023 at 9:05 a.m. EDT. Phone: 601.576.2800 In its report, the auditors office found two people who were receiving benefits despite reporting six-figure incomes on their state taxes. In the case of the welfare scandal, Auditor Shad White's office turned over information to the Hinds County District Attorney's Office that suggested Nancy New . In Mississippi, the state auditor's office began digging into the pharmacy allegations against Centene in the summer of 2019, according to a letter obtained by MCIR. Adult Protective Services: Mississippi Department of Human Services. A: The State Auditor's Office makes an arrest in the course of an investigation when a prosecutor, often a local district attorney, has secured an indictment against an individual. See The Spending Today State Auditor Shad White announced Stephanie Churchill has pleaded guilty to embezzlement in Benton County Circuit Court. of years of prison sentences for fraudsters. A review of invoices showed Mississippi'sMedicaid service was being charged more thanthe contractually allowed price capsfor certain drugs and services. Steve Patterson was state auditor from 1992 to 1996, when he resigned after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of using a false affidavit to buy a car tag. All others, we audit. Shad, youre welcome to use that.. Management & Training Corporation failed to meet staffing obligations, putting staff and inmates at risk. Look for the "Republish This Story" button underneath each story. announced a $55 million settlement with Centene, it opted to extend the contract for another year, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. The Deputy Director over the Investigations Division, or his/her designee, may be authorized by the State Auditor to meet in a closed session with a public body to discuss preliminary investigative findings, to give public officials notice of demands for recovery of public funds or However, one attorney that was part of the same firm was billing the city at a rate of $375 an hour, he said. Its unclear where any continuing federal or state investigations stand at this point. Attorney Lawrence Deas confirmed to the Clarion Ledger Monday morning his firm is still investigating. The MCEC did not reply to a request for comment from ABC News. As for the discrepancy, Williamson said the council approved hiring the firm in question at an hourly rate of $325 or $350 an hour. Instead, White has credited Bryant as the whistle blower who prompted his investigation, and said that it was Bryants welfare directors responsibility to know the law and refuse any improper directives from the governor. All rights reserved.). But White did not reveal that storyline to the public. "This new law is important because white-collar crime gets more and more complex every year," said Auditor White. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File - Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. He also said that the letter of engagement with the firm in question included the $375 for when its senior partner participated. Since then, UnitedHealth has made almost a quarter-of-a-billion dollars from Medicaid services in the state. In his time as State Auditor, Shad Whites team has stopped the largest public fraud in state history, made the Advertising Non-Discrimination Certification. Both lawsuits say the legislation - HB 1020 - disenfranchises black Jacksonians and infringes on their rights as citizens. You can only publish select stories individually not as a collection. March 23, 2023 JACKSON, Miss. Confirmation of the probe comes a week after Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch and State Auditor Shad White announced a $55 million settlement with Centene, another Fortune 500 company, to resolve allegations Centene had over-billed the state Division of Medicaid for prescription drugs. endstream William Winter, whom I worked for as governor and a little bit on a campaign and I was his legal counsel, Mabus said. By Cindy Boren. The auditor's office has been investigating several of the state's pharmacy benefit management contractors since 2019, after hiring Ridgeland-based law firm Liston & Deas on the state's. The investigation could include names not already released in civil complaints issued this week by State Auditor Shad White. Last week Governor Tate Reeves signed HB 405, a key piece of State Auditor Shad Whites 2023 legislative agenda. Hartley questioned the timing of the auditors investigation and how the auditor was made aware of the councils expenses. Federal criminal investigations are notoriously slow, but also notoriously thorough. Suspected fraud can be reported to the Auditors 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. She also received first place in the regional Green Eyeshade Awards in 2021 for Public Service in Online Journalism and 2020 for Business Reporting, and the local Bill Minor Prize for Investigative Journalism in 2019 and 2018 for reporting on unfair medical billing practices and hunger in the Mississippi Delta. White's office helped lead the investigation into Mississippi's $77 million welfare fraud scandal, . Youre not only jeopardizing your integrity but the integrity of the purpose youre pursuing Those facts raise the question of whether or not it passes the smell test, Johnson said. Continue Reading, JACKSON, Miss. The charges are one count of embezzlement, three counts of false representations to defraud the government, and one count of alteration of records. Originally from Florence, Mississippi, Pender is a journalism graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi and has received numerous awards throughout his career for reporting, columns and freedom of information efforts. Its mind-boggling that Mr. Favre wants to have a trial about that question. Continue Reading, JACKSON, Miss. "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 press release added. <> AccelerateMS. Most of the misappropriated funds are alleged to have been stolen through a now-dissolved anti-poverty program called Families First for Mississippi, co-operated by the Mississippi Community Education Center, according to the audit. Mississippi State Auditor Shad White alleged that money set aside from the federal government for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) programs were misappropriated under the leadership of John Davis, then-head of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, according to the letter. State of Mississippi 7 0 obj They wont say. pic.twitter.com/rDuj6yHTo6. Ole Miss shows they have some fight left in them. Phil Bryant, Phil Bryant had his sights on a payout as welfare funds flowed to Brett Favre, Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. Mississippi has contracted with UnitedHealth, under the name UnitedHealthcare of Mississippi, for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, benefitssince 2017. PHOTO: US Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, April 1, 2022. You can call him at 601-559-3857, send it to LSanderlin@gannett.com or message him on Twitter @LeeOSanderlin. We are confident that as this process moves forward, any entity (including those not named in the civil complaints), will be identified and held accountable. Governor Tate Reeves signed House Bill 405, authored by Representative Nick Bain, R-Corinth, which increases the statute of limitations on bribery from three years to five years, imitating federal law. Editorial cartoons and photo essays are not included under the Creative Commons license and therefore do not have the "Republish This Story" button option. All rights reserved. %PDF-1.5 He served as policy director when Bryant was lieutenant governor and was his gubernatorial campaign manager in 2015. "We are still early in our investigation," said Colby . stream Then-Southern District U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst in early 2020 issued a release noting, We in the United States Attorneys Office and the FBI only learned from media reports about the indictments and arrests, at the same time the general public did., While we commend the reported actions, neither the FBI nor the United States Attorneys Office was contacted by the State Auditor or the Hinds County District Attorney about this investigation, although millions of federal dollars are alleged to have been stolen.. It is ultimately going to be the discretion of the feds to determine who is culpable in this case.. William Winter is the very last person who would ever do anything like that, but if I had come across evidence, I would have removed myself. - SB 2338 of 2022 which requires the Department of Human Services Fraud Investigations Unit to report suspected crimes to . But now they initiate the action to look at some invoices with all the other things that could have popped up on their radar?, Did they all of a sudden call the city up and say, Hey, weve been looking at your invoices, and we want to make sure that you guys are doing everything OK? Hartley said. As for other efforts to recoup mishandled funds, in the FY 2022 Audit Exceptions Report, Auditor White said the Investigations Law Enforcement Division issued eighty-seven formal demands for a total of $101,026,109.27 and recovered misspent or embezzled funds totaling $1,926,802.10. Patterson said that were he in Whites position, I would hope that I would have recused myself or brought the attorney general in to do the investigation., Having said that, its a timing thing, Patterson said. music minister at their small country church, and his mother played the organ. 4 0 obj The state auditor and Mississippi attorney general are investigating whether Centene Corp., as a provider of Medicaid drug services, failed to disclose discounts on pharmacy services . Mississippi Todays The Backchannel investigation, State Auditor Shad White discusses welfare investigation, former Gov. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis). The auditor's office has been investigating several of the state's pharmacy benefit management contractors since 2019, after hiring Ridgeland-based law firmListon & Deas on the state's behalf. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. $V1\_wf^_W1obsY,(b>3*joxu9&x^?jxVf+,#?Yu_#po"iRxE4?Rh[V6tXHPI,:B59+Y T endobj This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. These exceptions involved miscellaneous, disallowed expenditures by chancery clerks and circuit clerks and are recorded as paid in full and settled to the appropriate fund directly.'. xxD@@pwAKp=]w8%H@ w^OffwvgvBpmT*?28Nn hX0OSg This represented the largest civil settlement resulting from a State Auditors investigation in the history of the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor. Fax: 601.576.2687 Sarah Warnock/Mississippi Clarion Ledger via USA Today Network, FILE. Founded in 2016 as the states first nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom, Mississippi Todays roots in Capitol coverage have grown to encompass a myriad of beats beyond politics and policy, including education, public health, justice, environment, equity, and, yes, sports. White was appointed the 42nd State Auditor of Mississippi in July 2018 and won election to the office after establishing That wasnt a part of the thinking or the conversation., Lumumba told members the auditor later raised questions about the citys legal expenses, but the investigation was not initiated by his office.