(Photo from MAGCOR FY 2025 Annual Report)
- Two reports from PEER show MAGCOR lacks a documented system of internal controls while MDOC’s reporting on its educational programs is inconsistent.
The Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) released two reports on the Mississippi prison system this week.
In the first report, PEER found that MAGCOR Industries, the state’s prison-industries nonprofit, reported combined net losses of more than $5.2 million in fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
PEER also found that MAGCOR lacks a comprehensive system of internal financial controls, increasing the risk of errors, fraud, embezzlement, and theft.
A former MAGCOR CEO was also found to have embezzled over $26,000, which has since been repaid, according to the Office of the State Auditor. MAGCOR recorded $18,922.33 of the loss in its accounting system under an account titled “Fraud.”
“A sound, well documented, and thoroughly tested system of internal controls is essential to ensure the timely, accurate, and complete reporting of financial information to management and assists in an entity’s compliance with laws and governmental regulations,” the PEER report said. “Internal controls also serve as a system of checks and balances that protect assets and reduce the possibility of losses through embezzlement and theft.”
MAGCOR currently has retained GranthamPoole PLLC as an external, contracted comptroller. The firm began serving as MAGCOR’s comptroller in February 2025 after previously serving as the organization’s independent auditor. PEER reported that GranthamPoole charged MAGCOR nearly $300,000 for its services through the end of fiscal year 2026.
PEER recommended that MAGCOR hire a full-time accounting or financial employee to oversee its accounting operations and internal controls rather than relying so heavily on an outside comptroller.
In the second report, PEER examined correctional education and career-training programs operated by the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC).
PEER found significant discrepancies between program data recorded in MDOC’s data management system and information reported by individual correctional facilities. Less than 2% of data matched between the two sources.
The unreliable data could impact MDOC’s state funding and the parole process, according to PEER.
“If the Mississippi Legislature cannot trust the information being provided by MDOC, it may not allocate resources to the most effective programs,” the PEER report said. “Further, program data helps the Parole Board determine if inmates have worked towards rehabilitation and are ready to be released.”
PEER noted that MDOC’s internal auditor identified similar problems with inconsistent and unreliable program data two years earlier, and that those problems remain.
PEER recommended in the report that MDOC improve data reliability by addressing problems with its current data management system, standardizing data-entry practices, and conducting routine audits.
MDOC is also transitioning to a new-data management system, and PEER recommended that the department validate its existing data before migrating it to the new system.
PEER then requested that MDOC “report to the Legislature on program outcomes and program costs to determine if its programs are not only cost-effective but also reduce recidivism.”
