The Tennessee Department of Correction on Monday said it will rebid a $123 million contract for behavioral health services after a lawsuit accused a state official of rigging the bidding process.
In an amended complaint filed in federal court two weeks ago, Tennessee-based prison contractor Corizon claims the Correction Department’s former chief financial officer, Wesley Landers sent internal emails related to the contract to a vice president at Centurion of Tennessee. In return, Landers got a “cushy” job with a Centurion affiliate in Georgia, the lawsuit claims.
According to the complaint, at the same times Landers was being hired, the performance bond on the mental health services contract increased from $1 million to $118 million. That effectively put the contract out of reach of the smaller Corizon, which had won the two previous bids in 2012 and 2016.
In an emailed statement, the Tennessee Correction Department said that it and the Department of General Services Central Procurement Office have decided to reissue a request for proposals after receiving information “evidencing practices inconsistent with the rules and regulations in place to insure fairness and transparency in the procurement process.” News of the change was initially reported in The Tennessean.
TDOC spokesperson Dorinda Carter said Missouri-based Centurion will continue as the prison mental health care provider for the time being. She did not immediately know whether Centurion would be allowed to bid on the new contract. General Services spokesman David H. Roberson referred the question back to TDOC.