Prison phone companies and county governments in Michigan’s St. Clair and Genesee counties engaged in a “quid pro quo kickback scheme” that ended in-person prison visit at prisons, according to two new lawsuits.
The lawsuits, filed by a non-profit called The Civil Rights Corps, allege that the elimination of in-person visits boosted the profits for the prison phone companies and those profits were then shared with the county governments.
Under the deal, visitors to the jails were required to pay for phone calls with prisoners and had no opportunity to visit in person. The prison phone companies named in the lawsuits are Securus, formerly called Global Tel*Link Corporation (GTL), and ViaPath.
One of the lawsuits, which names St. Clair Sheriff Mat King, St. Clair County, and the prison phone company Securus, states:
“On September 22, 2014, Genesee County officials enacted a new policy: a Family Visitation Ban prohibiting people from visiting their family members detained inside the county jail…The County’s initial decision in 2014 was part of a quid pro quo kickback scheme with Securus Technologie…”
According details unearthed in the lawsuit, the Genesee County jail captain, at the direction of now-sherif Christopher Swanson told an account executive for Global Tel*Link Corporation (GTL) that the county wanted to make more money than the agreement that had with Securus.
“We need the best deal you can do,” he wrote.
The County then proceeded to switch providers for the jail, signing a contract with GTL in 2018. Under that contract, which stands today, GTL pays the County $180,000 per year from the company’s phone call revenue. In addition, 20% of every video call (GTL charges $10 for a 25 minute call) goes to the county. GTL estimated the county would receive as much as $16,000 per year from their cut of the video calls.
Civil Rights Corps attorney Cody Cutting emphasized the importance of their lawsuit stating, “These cases demand urgent action from the courts because children are suffering. Every day these children and parents remain separated adds to their pain. But the cases also pose a broader question: Do we as a public condone a criminal system so unmoored from any moral bearings that it supports the punishment and exploitation of children, families, and communities?”
