Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An audit says California’s prison health care operator cost taxpayers $3 million by paying a contractor just to do paperwork.
The state auditor on Thursday said Correctional Health Care Services paid $17 million to upgrade electrical systems in state prisons beginning in 2011.
But the audit says the work was unlawfully done by a contractor under an existing agreement rather than being put out to bid.
Auditors also say the deal paid for goods and services that weren’t delivered for nearly a year, and wasted $3.2 million that the contractor received just to process invoices from a subcontractor.
The audit says Correctional Health Care Services has upgraded its training and procedures to make sure it’s handling contracts properly and getting the goods and services it paid for.