Mississippi Department of Human Services sues Brett Favre, others over welfare misspending
The Mississippi Department of Human Services on Monday sued retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre, three former pro wrestlers and several other people and businesses to try to recover millions of misspent welfare dollars that were intended to help some of the poorest people in the United States. The lawsuit says the defendants "squandered" more than $20 million in money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families anti-poverty program. The suit was filed less than two weeks after a mother and son who ran a nonprofit group and an education company in Mississippi pleaded guilty to state criminal charges tied to the misspending. Nancy New, 69, and Zachary New, 39, agreed to testify against others in what State Auditor Shad White has called Mississippi's largest public corruption case in the past two decades.
Lawsuit against ex-QB Brett Favre should be dismissed, attorneys argue
Attorneys for retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre argued in a new court filing Monday that a civil lawsuit against him seeking to recover misspent welfare money in Mississippi’s largest ever corruption case should be dismissed because the state Department of Human Services lacks evidence and is attempting to deflect from its own culpability. Millions of federal welfare dollars intended to help low-income Mississippi residents — some of the poorest people in the country — were instead squandered on projects supported by wealthy or well-connected people, including projects backed by Favre, between 2016 and 2019, prosecutors say.
timeline of Brett Favre's involvement in the Mississippi welfare fraud scheme; latest: Aaron Rodgers on Favre's donor list
The Mississippi fraud and embezzlement scheme, in which $77 million was funneled away from a program for needy families into other ventures, is the biggest public fraud case in the state's history. Celebrated former Packers quarterback — and Mississippi native — Brett Favre has not been charged with a crime, but he's a prominent player in the story. The scandal centers around federal money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families fund, distributed as block grants to each of the 50 states. It potentially dates back to 2016, when Human Services executive John Davis began directing multimillion-dollar lump sum payments to the Mississippi Community Education Center, a nonprofit that theoretically would then determine how the TANF money could be used. Davis did not make director Nancy New report how she spent the money.
Brett Favre welfare scandal shows that former QB's image is a fraud, too | Opinion
It should not have taken stealing money from some of the poorest people in our country to recognize and acknowledge that Brett Favre is a garbage human. He’d long ago established his selfishness, holding the Green Bay Packers hostage offseason after offseason while he hemmed and hawed about whether to keep playing. Showed off his vindictive streak, too, giving Packers fans who’d revered him and excused his shortcomings the middle finger by signing with archrival Minnesota at his first chance.
Favre played college football at the University of Southern Mississippi and was selected in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons, where he spent one season as a backup. Traded to the Packers, he became their starter early in the 1992 season and revitalized a franchise that had been in a period of decline since the late 1960s. During his 16 seasons with Green Bay, he led the team to 11 playoff appearances, seven division titles, four NFC Championship Games, two consecutive Super Bowl appearances, and one championship title in Super Bowl XXXI. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
Violation of NFL personnel conduct policies
In 1996, Favre was temporarily banned by the NFL from drinking alcohol, after he admitted he was addicted to Vicodin, and spent 46 days at a drug rehab clinic before the start of the season. His condition was serious enough that he had a potentially deadly seizure.
[u[Sexting allegations and investigated[/u]
In 2010, the NFL investigated Favre for allegedly sexting and leaving inappropriate voice messages for Jets "Gameday host" Jenn Sterger during the 2008 season.According to the NFL, forensic analysis failed to prove Favre sent the objectionable photographs to Sterger. Favre was found not to be in violation of the NFL's personal conduct policy, but was fined $50,000 for failing to cooperate with the investigation.
Mississippi welfare fund scandal
In 2020, Favre's involvement with the development and promotion of a concussion treatment drug, Prevasol, by the Prevacus corporation, came under scrutiny. The nonprofit Mississippi Community Education Center (MCEC) received $2.5 million in federal grant funds diverted from Mississippi's Temporary Assistance for needy families it's nott'on charges butwelfare funds (TANF), as well as tens of millions in public funds as an element of the scheme. The Mississippi state auditor has termed the scheme "the largest public embezzlement case in state history". A grand jury in Hinds County indicted MCEC founder, Nancy New, and her son Zach in the scheme. Favre had introduced MCEC's founders to top state welfare officials.Former Governor Phil Bryant is also involved in the scandal.
Former pro wrestler charged in Mississippi welfare fraud case that also involves Brett Favre
The indictment of Ted DiBiase Jr. is the latest development in a sprawling Mississippi corruption case involving wealthy and well-connected people.
Companies run by a former professional wrestler received “sham contracts” in Mississippi and misspent millions of dollars of welfare money that was supposed to help some of the neediest people in the U.S., according to a new federal indictment.The indictment of former wrestler Ted “Teddy” DiBiase Jr., 40, of Madison, Mississippi, was unsealed Thursday, two days after it was issued by a grand jury in Jackson. During a brief court appearance Thursday, he pleaded not guilty. “Jesus loves you, brother. God bless you, man,” DiBiase told a WAPT-TV reporter outside the federal courthouse. The indictment is the latest development in a sprawling Mississippi corruption case involving wealthy and well-connected people receiving contracts from the state Department of Human Services from 2016 to 2019.
Brett Favre to remain defendant in Mississippi civil lawsuit
Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre will remain as a defendant in a civil lawsuit that seeks to recover millions of dollars of misspent welfare money that was supposed to help some of the neediest people in the United States, a Mississippi judge ruled Monday. Circuit Judge Faye Peterson wrote that Favre's attorneys made "unpersuasive and inapplicable" arguments in seeking to have him removed as one of more than three dozen people or businesses being sued by the Mississippi Department of Human Services.
Millions of federal welfare dollars for low-income Mississippi residents were squandered on projects supported by wealthy or well-connected people, including projects such as a college volleyball facility backed by Favre, prosecutors say. No criminal charges have been brought against the NFL Hall of Famer, although other people have pleaded guilty to their part in the misspending.
The Department of Human Services lawsuit says money from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program was improperly spent, including on projects Favre supported: $5 million for a volleyball arena at the university where Favre's daughter played the sport and $1.7 million toward development of a concussion treatment drug.
Former wrestler charged in Mississippi welfare fraud case
The indictment of former wrestler Ted "Teddy" DiBiase Jr., 40, of Madison, Mississippi, was unsealed Thursday, two days after it was issued by a grand jury in Jackson. During a brief court appearance Thursday, he pleaded not guilty.
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DiBiase was a WWE wrestler in the 2000s and 2010s. The indictment accuses him and co-conspirators, including former Mississippi Department of Human Services director John Davis, of fraudulently obtaining federal money and using it for their own benefit.
Pat McAfee Answers Brett Favre’s Lawsuit With First Amendment
Calling Brett Favre’s defamation lawsuit against him “meritless” and a ruse to both “deflect attention away” from Favre’s legal troubles and to “silence media,” Pat McAfee wants the case tossed. On April 28, attorneys for McAfee filed a 30-page motion to dismiss in Mississippi’s federal district court. The attorneys, who describe McAfee as a “comedic sports analyst and broadcaster,” argue he was within his First Amendment free speech rights when he said on The Pat McAfeeShow that Favre “tied the hands of the poor people and took money right out of their pockets” and is “certainly in the middle of stealing from poor people in Mississippi right now.” He was likewise protected by free speech when tweeting that Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith was doing “The Favre” when Smith kiddingly put his hands into a Salvation Army basket.
McAfee’s attorneys stress that Favre has been sued by the Mississippi Department of Human Services for his alleged involvement in a scheme to divert welfare money to “pet projects,” including those for his company and alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi, for the construction of a volleyball facility that Favre pledged to fund. Favre’s alleged involvement, the attorneys note, “has been the subject of intense public scrutiny and media attention for nearly three years.”
As his attorneys see it, McAfee’s comments only touched on “matters of public concern” that are the “subject of official proceedings.” Allowing the suit against McAfee to go forward over those comments would, they insist, “risk chilling the exercise of First Amendment-protected speech.”
Shannon Sharpe Seeks Dismissal of Brett Favre Lawsuit over Welfare Scandal Comments
After Pat McAfee filed a motion to dismiss Brett Favre's defamation lawsuit against him in March, Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe is following suit. Per A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports, Sharpe's lawyers filed the motion on behalf of their client with the United States District Court in the southern district of Mississippi on Wednesday. "Sharpe's opinions—commentary based on reported facts and couched in rhetorical hyperbole regarding an issue of public concern about a public figure—lie at the core of the protections afforded by the First Amendment and Mississippi law," the memo from Sharpe's lawyers read. "Sharpe's comments are not actionable, and the complaint is irreparably defective on its face." Favre filed defamation lawsuits against Sharpe, McAfee and Mississippi state auditor Shad White in February. The Mississippi Department of Human Services is suing Favre and several other people and businesses in an attempt to recover millions of dollars in misspent welfare funds intended to help people in need.
Texts: Brett Favre among 3 who sought White House help for brain injuries when pursuing concussion drug funding
Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre, his business associate and former Mississippi governor Phil Bryant sought White House assistance in 2019 for brain injuries at a time when they were pursuing funding for an experimental concussion drug, newly released text messages show. The funding for that drug, developed by Prevacus, has since become part of a sprawling Mississippi welfare fraud case.
The texts released Thursday by the former governor show him telling Favre that they needed then-President Donald Trump's support. On Oct. 23, 2019, Bryant asked Favre whether he had "heard from Trump about going to his rally," and that the president had asked Bryant to "make sure you were attending."
Athletes such as Tom Brady, Herschel Walker and Tiger Woods were discussed as being invited for the summit, according to the texts, which VanLandingham said would take place before the Super Bowl and include Trump greeting them in the Oval Office. There's no evidence that any of these athletes were contacted or that the summit took place. In April 2020, a Mississippi state audit found at least $77 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds were misspent. Eight people have been indicted, six of whom have pleaded guilty for their involvement.
Brett Favre denies wrongdoing in welfare scandal, demands jury trial in court filing
Attorneys for Brett Favre on Friday filed a lengthy denial of allegations he used misappropriated state funds in Mississippi meant for needy families for the construction of a state-of-the-art volleyball facility at the University of Southern Mississippi where his daughter played. Eric Hirschmann, an attorney for the Hall of Fame quarterback, filed the denial of allegations in response to a civil complaint brought by the Mississippi Department of Human Services and asked that the court “deny the relief requested by MDHS” and dismiss the complaint in its entirety, as well as award Favre attorneys’ fees and costs.
Favre also requests a jury trial and contends that the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, would be the proper venue for a trial. The answer to the complaint lays out 21 affirmative defenses, where Favre’s attorneys question the statutory basis against the allegations, otherwise claiming that Favre acted in good faith and that “If there was a civil conspiracy in MDHS complaint, MDHS was a co-conspirator.” Favre did admit, in regard to the USM volleyball facility, that he donated autographed materials to be auctioned off, solicited third parties to help with the construction, and held meetings with former MDHS chief John Davis, ex-USM Athletic Director Jon Gilbert, and Mississippi Community Education Center founder Nancy New about the construction. He also claims that “John Davis suggested that MDHS could provide $4 million in funding” to build the facility.
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