On the surface, the welfare fraud case in Mississippi involving former NFL star QB Brett Favre and a slew of other Mississippians sounds too fishy to ignore.
And that’s because it is.
When you start digging, the situation reeks of scandal, fraud, criminal activity and corruption.
In what Mississippi Today labeled “the biggest public fraud case in state history”, at least $77 million in funds allocated to help the needy were “misspent” on other things. That includes “at least $5 million” for a new volleyball stadium at Southern Mississippi that was championed by Brett Favre as his daughter played for the university (Favre also played college football at the university).
This isn’t Favre’s first inclusion in a Mississippi fund scandal.
NBC News reports that Favre was paid $1.1 million by the state to make motivational speeches in 2017 and 2018- speeches which, according to the Mississippi state auditor, he never made.
In that case, the state demanded its money back, plus interest.
Favre acquiesced and repaid most of the fees (approximately $600,000) but balked at the requested $228,000 in interest.
But the audit pulled the curtain back on the bigger, stunning welfare scheme in the state, which placed Favre back in the hot seat.
The audit revealed that $70 million in TANF welfare funds (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) was given to everyone but the families it was designed for. The list of beneficiaries includes Favre, former pro wrestler Ted DiBiase, former Oklahoma running back Marcus Dupree and the volleyball complex.
This has simultaneously become a state and federal criminal case.
Federal regulations prohibit states from using TANF funds on physical locations (“brick and mortar”) or building construction. Favre was actually questioned by the FBI during which he denied knowing that the funds he received were designated for the needy.
The ongoing situation has simmered for over two years and it appeared to reach a boiling point in July.
That’s when attorney Brad Pigott, hired by the state welfare agency to retrieve the stolen funds, was fired by the agency and current governor, Tate Reeves, just after he issued a subpoena looking for more information about the roles Favre and former Governor Phil Bryant played in the scheme.
Reeves, a Republican like Bryant, claimed that Pigott, a Bill Clinton-appointed former U.S. attorney, had a political agenda.
Mind you, the official who uncovered the fraud case, auditor Shad White, is a Republican.
This is Mississippi politics at its finest.
That’s Mississippi
Mississippi is the poorest state in the U.S., boasting the lowest median income ($43,441) and the highest poverty rate (19.6%) in the nation. It also ranks second behind West Virginia in regard to lowest education levels.
This is also the state that diverted funds from its state capitol, Jackson, to richer (and whiter) surrounding areas. That decision left Jackson vulnerable to disasters such as the water crisis that’s currently plaguing the city.
Jackson was due to receive $42 million for improvements to its ailing water management system. But in April, the Republican-led legislature withheld the funds, claiming the city failed to properly use previously allocated pandemic funds in 2020 intended for infrastructure improvements.
Not surprisingly, the blame game played by Republicans in the state has painted Jackson officials in a bad light and are unfairly using the city’s water crisis as proof of incompetence.
These officials had already tried to neuter Jackson’s power with additional oversight of federal funds and attempted to take over the city’s airport. Now they’re discussing taking over the city’s water system and either running it at the state level or hiring a private firm.
That would further erode the power of the city government and increase the likelihood of inflated water rates for an already poor city.
Oh, did we forget to mention that Jackson is over 80% Black?
That’s crucial to know for what we’re witnessing in Jackson is the pattern of corruption and gentrification we’ve witnessed in other cities across the country.
Cue white flight, deprive the remaining residents (Black and Brown) of essential services and resources and cripple neighborhoods. Wait a few years and then buy the land up cheaply for development and then increase existing rents. That forces long-time residents out for they can no longer afford to live there.
Suddenly, the city’s demographics shift dramatically and the area is reborn with fresh new faces and flush with services and resources that should have been present years prior.
This is the systematic corruption that radically transforms cities and communities while destroying them in the process.
And the scandal involving TANF funds is another example of the corruption that rampages throughout the state.
Texts Don’t Lie
In a series of stories, Mississippi Today investigative reporter Anna Wolfe details the extent of the corruption.
In August, the nonprofit Mississippi-based news organization uncovered text messages between then-Lt. Governor Reeves, former state welfare director John Davis and Paul Lacoste, Reeves’ friend and personal trainer regarding money funneled to Lacoste for his fitness business. According to the auditor, Lacoste improperly received “over $1.3 million” from TANF funds for his project.
Reeves had never been mentioned in the investigation until these texts were unearthed. But as the investigation unfolds, more and more individuals have been unmasked as having some sort of role in the welfare scheme.
Wolfe’s accounts of the scheme are detailed and extensive. You can read them here.
But as it stands now, neither Reeves, Favre, or Bryant have been charged criminally.
Others have, including Nancy New, a friend of Bryant’s wife and founder of the Mississippi Community Education Center. The Center was responsible for spending millions in federal welfare funds to help those in need across the state. Recently, New, and her son, Zach, pled guilty to 13 felony counts related to her role in the welfare scheme.
The pair attempted to circumvent federal TANF rules by classifying the volleyball arena as a “lease” with the university. Then they included offices for the nonprofit and designated it a “Wellness Center” in an attempt to show that the nonprofit was providing services at the facility.
That, according to Pigott, was “a sham, fraudulent, so-called lease agreement.”
The scheme unraveled once text messages between Favre, Bryant and New came to light. In them, they discussed how to funnel at least $5 million in welfare funds to the volleyball arena at Southern Miss.
In a 2017 text conversation, Favre asked New “If you were to pay me is there anyway the media can find out where it came from and how much?”
New responded, “No, we never have had that information publicized. I understand you being uneasy about that though. Let’s see what happens on Monday with the conversation with some of the folks at Southern [Miss]. Maybe it will click with them. Hopefully.”
In 2020, Mississippi Today texted Favre and asked him if he had discussed the volleyball project with Bryant. He replied, “No.”
But texts uncovered by Mississippi Today prove otherwise.
And New, who is cooperating with prosecutors, alleged that Bryant directed her to make the aforementioned $1.1 million payment to Favre.
The Current Situation
As the investigation continues, and more texts are revealed, we can assume additional parties will be named and more charges will be levied.
New and her son have pled guilty and are cooperating with authorities.
John Davis, who was fired by Bryant in 2019 after he was suspected of fraud, was arrested and has pled not guilty.
The state investigation, which seeks to recoup $24 million from approximately 40 different parties, appears to have slowed down after Reeves fired Pigott.
But federal authorities have not.
President Biden nominated Todd Gee to serve as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi. Gee will oversee the investigation at the federal level (once confirmed by the Senate).
Pigott, meanwhile, continues to blast the welfare scheme and the Mississippi politics attempting to sheathe any progress into the investigation.
“People are going to go to jail over this, at least the state should be willing to find out the truth of what happened,” Pigott told Mississippi Today after he was fired.
Based on what we’ve witnessed coming from Mississippi, we’re positive that those connected to the largest fraud case in state history, especially those in power, want to do to the investigation what they’ve done to residents across the state.
Keep the poor poor, the rich rich and deprive investigators of education and information about the situation.
Oh, and about the $77 million in TANF funds meant for needy families in the country’s poorest state? We’re all waiting to hear.
