Continue Reading, JACKSON, Miss. State Auditor Shad White issued the following statement after Theodore DiBiase Jr. was indicted today in federal court: Continue Reading, JACKSON, Miss. Last year we recovered nearly $2 million, Auditor White said. No further arrests have been made since Whites office initially arrested six people in February of 2020 Bryants head of DHS and another agency employee, former pro wrestler Brett DiBiase, a nonprofit and private school owner and her son and an accountant that worked for them. Anderson says MDHS will hold all appropriate parties accountable for fraud, waste, and abuse related to the federal block grant money. Favre allegedly received the funds for speeches that he did not give, the AP reported. A review of invoices showed Mississippi'sMedicaid service was being charged more thanthe contractually allowed price capsfor certain drugs and services. I guess a similar situation would have been if I ever learned something about (former Gov.) JACKSON, Miss. 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. 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. Deputy Director, Criminal Investigations Division: Mississippi, USA bxxxxxd@osa.ms.gov: Fletcher Freeman: Deputy Director Of Communications: Mississippi, USA . pic.twitter.com/rDuj6yHTo6. Churchill, a former Town Clerk of Hickory Flat, was indicted and arrested for embezzlement in April of 2022. MDHS continues criminal investigation into misspent TANF funds, Former U.S. Attorney Brad Piggot is assisting with the investigation, Truck possibly connected to Hinds County jail escape found in Newton County, Teen arrested after two dead, four others injured in Bay St. Louis shooting, Paraplegic fisherman speaks to Beulah Baptist Church, Eleven players with Mississippi ties selected in 2023 NFL Draft, City of Byram awarded thousands of state dollars for infrastructure projects, Belhaven football puts a smile on the face of little girl, First Alert Forecast: mild breezes Monday; rain, storm chances return late week, Request a First Alert Weather School Visit, Advertising Non-Discrimination Certification. Richards filed its first complaint against the mayor and council last summer for failing to pay the company for trash collection services. Jacksons contract with Richards expired on March 31. Contact information for Smith was not immediately available. 0:00. But some holes in the audit have since emerged, especially relating to Bryants involvement behind the scenes. In 2009 he was sentenced to two years in federal prison for his role in a judicial bribery case. a proud member of the And when those facts are looming out there, youve got to back off and ask will my involvement jeopardize the integrity of the investigation I think (White) is a man of high integrity, but you asked me personally what I would do and thats it.. All rights reserved. In 2019, State Auditor Shad White launched an investigation into the PBM serving the states Medicaid program. You cant edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. It's rare for state officials to visit New Albany but Mississippi Auditor Shad White was here recently, coincidentally the same day his . Jv|,w\7"|L\M$E9VzT);2op)7=mi+uUv( wRP3LA3$H.~1q^T_JWN?yAKDMcJ.anLNm"'[:[^[kirKe(d)Cb 9,j\Vs?O'm=BcJ&i&#f9YmVpeo cU%&[ ^/^\"rH&uwoNu|"ROyVV[Ht&jwQ\=.Mut|qHr\la4#v/v 2cC.+:RBaGB]VJ7V The rule that I lived by was if there is any question whatsoever, dont do it, said Pete Johnson, who served as state auditor from 1988-1992, and ran unsuccessfully for governor, losing to Kirk Fordice in the Republican primary in 1991. 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. - Today State Auditor Shad White announced that Special Agents from his office have served Management & Training Corporation (MTC) with a civil demand totaling nearly $2 million after the company failed to follow the terms of its contract to operate the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) facility in Marshall County. In 2019, State Auditor Shad White launched an investigation into the PBM serving the state's Medicaid program. Fax: 601.576.2687 &A(@ `$&UV/?4b ( 4)c%@/ P$Y$H`=V```````8@Ii Mississippi Office of the State Auditor United States employs 43 employees. 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. As part of that settlement,the state had to agree Centene has provided "high quality" pharmacy benefit services to the state, and the company did not admit any fault. Legislative Update Multiple requests for comment to UnitedHealth went unanswered. White also faced questions early on and criticism from the U.S. Attorneys Office as to why he didnt promptly bring in federal authorities, who have massive investigative resources, particularly since the malfeasance involved federal tax dollars. Voting along with him were Ward 5 Councilman Vernon Hartley and Ward 6 Councilman Aaron Banks. Bryants appointment of his former campaign manager and policy director White as state auditor in 2018 was something of a surprise to most political observers. Meanwhile, USM must find some. P.O. ( WJTV) - On Monday, State Auditor Shad White announced Larry Ware has been named the new Director of Investigations at the Mississippi . k"=z@T Their vast undercover, wiretap and other resources allow the FBI and DOJ to cast wide nets over criminal conspiracies. Our goal is to not only recoup these funds, but to hold all appropriate parties accountable for fraud, waste, and abuse related to the federal block grant because ultimately the state of Mississippi will be held accountable for these misused funds in the amount that U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) determines was misused. <> 25, 2023 at 4:28 PM PDT JACKSON, Miss. When asked for comment about this alleged fraud, a Mississippi Division of Medicaid spokesperson said it was the divisions own investigators who originally caught the fraud. Look, if youre going to give the taxpayers confidence that investigations are being done impartially and objectively, even if this one is being done that way, its never going to look that way because of their closeness, and nobodys going to believe that punches werent pulled, Mabus said. Advertising Non-Discrimination Certification. the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and Harvard Law School. Her background in political science helps her cut through the noise to find and explain the truth. She received the National Press Foundations 2020 Poverty and Inequality Award. Phil Bryant. They have been privy to everything thats been going on in the city of Jackson for the last year, year and a half regarding garbage, he said. Jefferson and Neal were both arrested in June 2019. Former Mississippi Gov. White said the recovery funds also involved inappropriate salary increases approved by some boards of supervisors as well as election commissioners being paid for more days than allowed. Federal criminal investigations are notoriously slow, but also notoriously thorough. Anna has received national recognition for her work, including the 2021 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting, the 2021 Collier Prize for State Government Accountability, the 2021 John Jay/Harry Frank Guggenheim Excellence in Criminal Justice Reporting Award, the 2020 Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award and the February 2020 Sidney Award for reporting on Mississippis debtors prisons. <>>> The state's settlement with Centene provides a glimpse of what the UnitedHealth probe may center on. 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. Mississippi is one of several states probing the billing practices of its pharmacy benefit managers. On the weekends, his father was State Auditor Shad White has named Larry Ware as the new Director of Investigations. As a result of this investigation, a settlement was reached in the amount of $55.5 Million. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis). 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. New Mexico, Ohio, Georgia, Kansas and Arkansas are also investigating, according to the Wall Street Journal. Job openings are posted for recruitment with Workplace Investment Network (WIN) Job Service Offices and on the Mississippi State Personnel Board (SPB) website at www.mspb.ms.gov. All rights reserved. (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. I hope the report is taken seriously.. Attorneys for Nancy and Zach New did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News. 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." %PDF-1.5 The monies are a result of instances such as bond repayments or a judges decision on restitutions. What is the cost of Mississippi deciding not to expand Medicaid? At the center of the state's UnitedHealth probe is OptumRX, a UnitedHealth subsidiary that manages prescription drug plans. manager, for charging Medicaid more than the allowed price cap. To learn more about our cartoon syndication services. Banks declined to comment when asked outside council chambers following Tuesdays meeting. White did face questions about Bryant, given that the former governors director of human services and close friends of Bryant were among those arrested and indicted, and the malfeasance appeared to involve programs or companies Bryant had championed. Six people including John Davis, have been indicted on state charges in the case. White as auditor has burnished a reputation as a hard-charging defender of state tax dollars, and was credited with unmasking a massive scheme in the 2019 welfare scandal. Published in April 2022, the explosive investigation exposed corruption in Mississippi's dysfunctional welfare system, which deprived the poorest US state of millions of federal dollars that was intended to address widespread poverty. An OSA report titled, Pharmacies vs. Big Corporations: Survey Illustrates the Challenge of PBMs for Independent Pharmacies said PBMs were originally created to manage these reimbursements from a health plan to your local pharmacy. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. The state began investigating Centene in 2019 after growing suspicion that Envolve Pharmacy Solutions, Centene's pharmacy benefit management subsidiary, was inflating its bills. 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.'. Attorney Felicia Perkins confirmed during the April 17 hearing that the memo referenced in the court filings was the document being submitted. 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. In Mississippi, the state contracts with health providers to provide Medicaid coverage to nearly 500,000 people. Ray Mabus served as state auditor from 1984 to 1988. Jon Salem, who was fired from the council in August, said he was fired for bringing forward concerns that the council was misspending grant money, including those from local government. . 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 . JACKSON, Miss. Indictment, Brett DiBiase Pleads Guilty in Federal Court, Former City of Jackson Constituent Services Manager Pleads Guilty, Auditor White Hosts Panel Discussion on the Importance of Present Fathers. 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. 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. The agency notified the city on April 5, urging leaders to reimplement residential collections, saying the temporary drop-off sites were not adequate to handle the citys needs. 8 0 obj % Phil Bryant. Phone: 601.576.2800 Six people have been indicted on state charges, including Davis. Today State Auditor Shad White hosted a panel discussion on the positive impact present fathers have on their children. The fact is that it was work that was performed over a period of six months for the city council. We look forward to a swift recovery of these funds.. If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using. It was valuable work that helped us resolve a potential stop of picking up of garbage.. xY]o6}7pbf8i3kx`^xsn;)L}/zE'tAHdqvAv5\b:9:X4IqGN;Z7nTWz3\TFSt7"hUZ2m+(GqrI((9}*JA4p&HAittQ:YIX}0|("8viY0m|k@d(Fs >)% d( ,w@VD Cj x@ dPm RAB a Photo by Kayode Crown . Mississippi State Auditor Shad White released a report in August 2022 that said absent fathers cost taxpayers $560 million a year, with incarceration rates contributing to those costs. The amount, roughly $45,000 for Mills, Scanlon, Dye & Pittman, also had been pulled from the April 11 claims docket. 2023 www.clarionledger.com. 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. 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. PIE Application, Mississippi Office of the State Auditor 2020, Statute of Limitations on Bribery Increased, State Auditor Shad Whites Statement on Theodore Teddy DiBiase Jr. An early oddity in the auditors probe came when White went to the Hinds County District Attorneys Office notoriously understaffed and suffering huge backlogs of cases after he launched an eight-month investigation without notifying federal authorities. Whether Medicaid is expanded or not, we need to be doing more, White said. He worked closely with federal authorities in the Operation Pretense investigation and prosecution of widespread county government corruption across Mississippi. by Geoff Pender and Anna Wolfe, Mississippi Today May 12, 2022, This and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.. 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. Thats why it was pulled.. William Winter, whom I worked for as governor and a little bit on a campaign and I was his legal counsel, Mabus said. Geoff Pender serves as senior political reporter, working closely with Mississippi Today leadership on editorial strategy and investigations. White and numerous other officials have declined comment on the case for months citing a gag order from a state judge. Toll Free: 1.800.321.1275, Contact Anne McGrew, an accountant for the MCEC, pleaded guilty in October 2021 to one charge of conspiracy to commit embezzlement. 10 0 obj We do not sell or share your information with anyone. 4 0 obj The Auditors 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. This is one of the larger demands weve issued in my time in office. Note: After this story published, Auditor Shad White responded on Twitter. Civil demands issued by the State Auditor include Davis and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre. One of the recipients of almost $1.1 million in welfare funds was former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre, who lives in Mississippi. 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. Transparency The guilty plea was recorded in Judge J. Kelley Luthers courtroom. 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. In a text message Tuesday afternoon, Scanlon also addressed the discrepancy mentioned by Williamson, saying the companys engagement letter with the city clearly lays out the rate for Senior Partner Jerry Mills. In May, it opted to extend the contract for another year, the last extension allowed under the current deal. Anderson said, Our counsel, Mr. Piggot, has already been reaching out to a number of them inviting them to come sit down and talk with us and tell their side of the story. The agency notified the city on April 5, urging leaders to reimplement residential collections, saying the temporary drop-off sites were not adequate to handle the citys needs. Internships This represented the largest civil settlement resulting from a State Auditors investigation in the history of the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor. Want more WLBT news in your inbox? The fraud allegations were first revealed in 2020 by state prosecutors in one of the largest cases involving embezzlement claims in state history. However today, the Auditors office says PBMs are large corporations that have incredible power in the pharmaceutical industry. not the other way around.. Phone: 601.576.2800 (844) 437-6282 Website. 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.