The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was created by the first #COVID19 stimulus bill to help small businesses retain employees. Only 5.7% of US businesses received a PPP loan, but among them, infamous corporations in the prison industry. These may shock you…or not. (THREAD)

While many are struggling to pay for calls with their incarcerated loved ones, the corporations exploiting them are getting bailouts. NCIC received a $1-2 million PPP loan while charging families $7.50 for a simple 15-minute local phone call.

https://act.freepress.net/sign/justice_prisonphone_stimulus/?source=worth_rises

Incarcerated people make just $0.20/hr working for the Mississippi Prison Industries Corp, the state's prison labor business. But they weren’t included its employee count when it received $150-350K. Apparently, incarcerated people aren't employees and their pay is irrelevant.

Quality Correctional Care received $1-2 million, which is a bit confusing since one of the few industries with job security during the pandemic is healthcare. Yet, they weren't the only ones. Perhaps it's because correctional care right now has been largely reduced to solitary.

Remember this investigative article about death and sexual abuse in prison transport vans? Well, one of the featured and largest prison transport corps, Prisoner Transportation Services, got a $1-2 million PPP loan with the help of @PinnacleBank. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2019/02/28/congress-seeks-answers-from-prisoner-transport-company

But it wasn't the only prison transport corp to get a PPP loan. Wisconsin Lock & Load—yes, you read that right—received $150-350K.

It proudly showcases a satellite map of its transports.

Then there's the state and federal private prison operator and community corrections provider, Keeton Corrections, which received $350K-$1 million.

They claim to "have developed programs to provide supervised offender interaction with needy children."

Prison food provider, GD Correctional, which controls 80% of the NJ correctional food market, got an incredible $2-5 million PPP loan, really demonstrating how dependent prison profiteers are high incarceration rates since NJ has led on freeing people during the pandemic.

Thankfully the jail population is down in NJ and across the country. But that wasn't welcome news for the Pauly Jail Building Company, which secured a $1-2 million PPP loan despite having at least 21 active construction projects for prisons, jails, and courthouses.

How about the American Correctional Association? The prison trade association responsible for accrediting facilities received $350K-$1 million though it stopped auditing during the pandemic and has no idea how many incarcerated people have died. https://twitter.com/BiancaTylek/status/1290607001404428289?s=20

Some are just hard to explain. Creative Corrections, "a management consulting firm committed to providing innovative concepts to government and public private partnerships by offering expert knowledge, experience and proven reliability...," received $350K-$1 million.

And there are still A LOT more: ICS Jail Supplies, Correctional Counseling, Correctional Technologies, Corrections Software Solutions...

Many prison profiteers received govt funds while incarcerated people have been left to die and families struggle emotionally and financially.