Former state Sen. Irb Benjamin pleaded guilty for his part in the Mississippi Department of Corrections bribery scandal as expected Tuesday in Jackson.

Benjamin, 69, of Madison, was indicted in August 2015 on three federal counts that he conspired to commit mail fraud and paid bribes and kickbacks to former corrections chief Christopher B. Epps in exchange for contracts with companies he represented.

Benjamin’s indictment accused him of paying Epps for contracts to Benjamin’s company, Mississippi Correctional Management, to provide alcohol and drug treatment services to inmates at state work centers in Alcorn and Simpson counties. The company was paid about $774,000 for the work.

He also was accused of paying Epps for help in securing contracts with Alcorn, Washington and Chickasaw counties for consulting services during construction and later operation of three regional corrections facilities.

Brandon businessman Cecil McCrory and Epps pleaded guilty to charges connected to the bribery scheme in February 2015, but they have not been sentenced. Three others have also pleaded guilty on related charges.

U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate will sentence Benjamin in early 2017. Benjamin faces up to 10 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. Prosecutors also want him to forfeit money he gained.

X

Republish this article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Unless otherwise noted, you can republish most of Mississippi Today’s stories for free under a Creative Commons license. For digital publications:

• Look for the "Republish This Story" button underneath each story. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS).
• Editorial cartoons and photo essays are not included under the Creative Commons license and therefore do not have the "Republish This Story" button option. To learn more about our cartoon syndication services, click here.
• You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.
• You can’t sell or syndicate our stories.
• Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.
• If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @MSTODAYnews on Facebook and @MSTODAYnews on Twitter.

For print publications:

• You have to credit Mississippi Today. We prefer “Author Name, Mississippi Today” in the byline. If you’re not able to add the byline, please include a line at the top of the story that reads: “This story was originally published by Mississippi Today” and include our website, mississippitoday.org.
• You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.
• You cannot republish our editorial cartoons, photographs, illustrations or graphics without specific permission (contact our managing editor Kayleigh Skinner for more information). To learn more about our cartoon syndication services, click here.
• Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories.
• You can’t sell or syndicate our stories.
• You can only publish select stories individually — not as a collection.
• Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.
• If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @MSTODAYnews on Facebook and @MSTODAYnews on Twitter.

If you have any other questions, contact Audience Development Director Lauchlin Fields.

Irb Benjamin pleads guilty in Epps prison bribery case

by R.L. Nave, Mississippi Today
October 18, 2016

<h1>Irb Benjamin pleads guilty in Epps prison bribery case</h1> <p class="byline">by R.L. Nave, Mississippi Today <br />October 18, 2016</p> <p>Former state Sen. Irb Benjamin pleaded guilty for his part in the Mississippi Department of Corrections bribery scandal <a href="https://mississippitoday.org/2016/10/03/former-state-senator-to-plead-guilty-in-epps-bribery-case/">as expected</a> Tuesday in Jackson.</p> <p>Benjamin, 69, of Madison, was indicted in August 2015 on three federal counts that he conspired to commit mail fraud and paid bribes and kickbacks to former corrections chief Christopher B. Epps in exchange for contracts with companies he represented.</p> <p>Benjamin’s indictment accused him of paying Epps for contracts to Benjamin’s company, Mississippi Correctional Management, to provide alcohol and drug treatment services to inmates at state work centers in Alcorn and Simpson counties. The company was paid about $774,000 for the work.</p> <p>He also was accused of paying Epps for help in securing contracts with Alcorn, Washington and Chickasaw counties for consulting services during construction and later operation of three regional corrections facilities.</p> <p>Brandon businessman Cecil McCrory and Epps pleaded guilty to charges connected to the bribery scheme in February 2015, but they have not been sentenced. Three others have also pleaded guilty on related charges.</p> <p>U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate will sentence Benjamin in early 2017. Benjamin faces up to 10 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. Prosecutors also want him to forfeit money he gained.</p> <p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://mississippitoday.org/2016/10/18/irb-benjamin-pleads-guilty-in-epps-prison-bribery-case/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://mississippitoday.org">Mississippi Today</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://mississippitoday.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=27806&ga=UA-75003810-1" style="max-width:200px"></p> Copy to Clipboard

1

Republish This Story

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.