$1 Million in Welfare Money to Favre Volleyball Project

Hank77 · Sep 15, 2022

JACKSON, Miss.,
Instead of the money going to help low-income families in one of the nation’s poorest states, as intended, it was funneled through a nonprofit group and spent on a new $5 million volleyball facility at a university that the football star and the governor both attended.
...
According to a previous court filing, New’s nonprofit made two payments of welfare money to Favre Enterprises, the athlete’s business: $500,000 in December 2017 and $600,000 in June 2018.
...
In May, the Mississippi Department of Human Services filed a civil lawsuit against Favre, three former pro wrestlers, and several other people and businesses to try to recover millions of misspent welfare dollars. The lawsuit said the defendants “squandered” more than $20 million from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families anti-poverty program.
...
In a Facebook post when he repaid the first $500,000, Favre said he didn’t know the money came from welfare funds.

Texts: Mississippi ex-governor knew of Favre welfare money

The ex-governor of MS has also said that he didn't authorize the payments to Favre as the non-profit says he did.

Handmaid for Jesus · Sep 15, 2022

And they protest against food stamps. :sigh:

The IbanezerScrooge · Sep 15, 2022

Handmaid for Jesus said:
And they protest against food stamps.

In their minds this is a better use of the funds.

durangodawood · Sep 15, 2022

Its not cheap to build our temples to sportsball.

cow451 · Sep 15, 2022

I never liked Favre anyway. Now I know what my instincts were telling me.

essentialsaltes · Jan 3, 2023

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — In Mississippi, where elected officials have a long history of praising self-sufficiency and condemning federal antipoverty programs, a welfare scandal has exposed how millions of dollars were diverted to the rich and powerful — including pro athletes — instead of helping some of the neediest people in the nation.

grasping the after wind · Jan 3, 2023

Just about every government program that claims to be for the poor ends up enriching someone other than the people that they claimed to be wanting to help. You have politicians and bureaucrats running a scam operation to enrich themselves and their associates at the expense of the citizens. The myriad programs don't seem to be doing what those that proposed them claimed they would do. Pretended compassion seems to be enough to get a lot of people to ignore the lack of results and advocate for even more of the same.

ThatRobGuy · Jan 3, 2023

Am I the only one who finds at least a little bit of comedic irony in the fact that the one of the pro-wrestlers who was involved in this "million dollar welfare scheme" was "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase?

Mississippi Sues Brett Favre, Three Former Wrestlers Over Welfare Misspending - Sports Illustrated

The lawsuit says the defendants “squandered” more than $20 million from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families anti-poverty program.

www.si.com

Desk trauma · Jan 3, 2023

ThatRobGuy said:
Am I the only one who finds at least a little bit of comedic irony in the fact that the one of the pro-wrestlers who was involved in this "million dollar welfare scheme" was "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase?

Mississippi Sues Brett Favre, Three Former Wrestlers Over Welfare Misspending - Sports Illustrated

The lawsuit says the defendants “squandered” more than $20 million from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families anti-poverty program.

www.si.com

The best gimmicks tend to be the wrestlers real personality turned up to 11.

ThatRobGuy · Jan 4, 2023

Desk trauma said:
The best gimmicks ten to be the wrestlers real personality turned up to 11.

essentialsaltes · Feb 11, 2023

“It is apparent that MDHS has sued Favre, a Mississippi and national celebrity, to try to deflect responsibility for its own egregious wrongdoing in allowing tens of millions of dollars of its public funds to be misspent — funds for which MDHS itself admits it was ‘exclusively responsible,’” said the filing Friday by Favre’s lawyers, including Eric D. Herschmann of Austin, Texas.

Haha, it's all your fault you gave me this money. In separate actions, Favre has also sued Shannon Sharpe and other commentators for defamation.

Aryeh Jay · Feb 12, 2023

Arkansas is going to show Mis-sippy how it's done.

essentialsaltes · Sep 4, 2023

Mississippi governor’s brother suggested that auditor praise Brett Favre during welfare scandal

“If possible, Brett would like you to say something along the lines of ‘the investigation (shows to this point) Brett has done nothing wrong and the monies he is paying back for commercials and Psa’s is from his own good will,’” Todd Reeves texted White.

Southern Miss!

essentialsaltes · Mar 1, 2024

essentialsaltes said:
Mississippi governor’s brother suggested that auditor praise Brett Favre during welfare scandal

Mississippi ex-governor expected stake in firm that got welfare money, says woman convicted in fraud

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said at a party weeks before leaving office that he had been offered a financial stake in a company that received welfare money to try to develop a concussion drug and was connected to retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre, according to a new court filing by a person convicted in a welfare misspending case.

essentialsaltes · Jul 3, 2024

At last someone may be going to jail for all the millions in welfare fraud in Mississippi!

She won a Pulitzer for exposing how the country's poorest state spent federal welfare money. Now she might go to jail.

"The rabbit's got the gun now," said a lawyer for former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, who is trying to force reporter Anna Wolfe to reveal her sources.

But just over a year after she secured journalism’s top award for exposing how $77 million in federal welfare funds went to athletes, cronies and pet projects, she and her editor, Adam Ganucheau, are contemplating what to pack for an extended stay behind bars. Sued for defamation by the state’s former governor — a top subject of their reporting — they have been hit with a court order requiring them to turn over internal files including the names of confidential sources. They say the order is a threat to journalism that they will resist.

“If one of us goes to jail, we will be the first person to go to jail in the Mississippi welfare scandal,” Wolfe told NBC News, referring to the eight indictments that stemmed from the imbroglio, none of which has yet resulted in a sentence.

The plaintiff in the defamation case is Phil Bryant, who was governor when the scandal erupted, first with a report by the state’s auditor, then with a blizzard of coverage by Mississippi Today. Bryant — who has not been charged with a crime and says he did nothing illegal — claims the online news organization wrongly accused him of criminal conduct.

The money went instead to well-connected people and their favorite causes, public records show, most of which had little to do with helping poor people. They included a volleyball facility that cost more than $5 million at the University of Southern Mississippi, a project championed by former NFL football star Brett Favre, whose daughter happened to be on the volleyball team there.

Favre, who has not been charged, also received $1.1 million for purported promotional efforts. And a drug company in which he owned stock, Prevacus, received $2.1 million, according to public records. Favre lobbied the governor to help secure the money, according to text messages obtained by Mississippi Today.

“It’s 3rd and long and we need you to make it happen!!” Favre texted Bryant on Dec. 26, 2018. Bryant replied, “I will open a hole.”

Pommer · Jul 4, 2024

essentialsaltes said:
At last someone may be going to jail for all the millions in welfare fraud in Mississippi!

She won a Pulitzer for exposing how the country's poorest state spent federal welfare money. Now she might go to jail.
"The rabbit's got the gun now," said a lawyer for former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, who is trying to force reporter Anna Wolfe to reveal her sources.

But just over a year after she secured journalism’s top award for exposing how $77 million in federal welfare funds went to athletes, cronies and pet projects, she and her editor, Adam Ganucheau, are contemplating what to pack for an extended stay behind bars. Sued for defamation by the state’s former governor — a top subject of their reporting — they have been hit with a court order requiring them to turn over internal files including the names of confidential sources. They say the order is a threat to journalism that they will resist.

“If one of us goes to jail, we will be the first person to go to jail in the Mississippi welfare scandal,” Wolfe told NBC News, referring to the eight indictments that stemmed from the imbroglio, none of which has yet resulted in a sentence.

The plaintiff in the defamation case is Phil Bryant, who was governor when the scandal erupted, first with a report by the state’s auditor, then with a blizzard of coverage by Mississippi Today. Bryant — who has not been charged with a crime and says he did nothing illegal — claims the online news organization wrongly accused him of criminal conduct.

The money went instead to well-connected people and their favorite causes, public records show, most of which had little to do with helping poor people. They included a volleyball facility that cost more than $5 million at the University of Southern Mississippi, a project championed by former NFL football star Brett Favre, whose daughter happened to be on the volleyball team there.

Favre, who has not been charged, also received $1.1 million for purported promotional efforts. And a drug company in which he owned stock, Prevacus, received $2.1 million, according to public records. Favre lobbied the governor to help secure the money, according to text messages obtained by Mississippi Today.

“It’s 3rd and long and we need you to make it happen!!” Favre texted Bryant on Dec. 26, 2018. Bryant replied, “I will open a hole.”

Where are our “two-tiered justice system” friends when we need them?

essentialsaltes · Oct 6, 2024

essentialsaltes said:
At last someone may be going to jail for all the millions in welfare fraud in Mississippi!

She won a Pulitzer for exposing how the country's poorest state spent federal welfare money. Now she might go to jail.

Wolfe, a reporter with Mississippi Today, a nonprofit, online news outlet, won the Pulitzer for detailing a disturbing $77 million welfare fraud scandal in the nation's second-poorest state, a scandal headlined by Mississippi's most famous athlete, Brett Favre.

[N]ot long after the Pulitzers were announced, the former governor sued Mississippi Today for defamation, setting off a battle that not only soured Wolfe's and Mississippi Today's moment but, more troubling to Wolfe, turned the focus away from the scandal itself.

The governor wants all of Wolfe's notes. He wants her emails. He wants her confidential sources. And the judge has ordered, at the very least, that Wolfe and Co. show him what they've got so he can determine its relevance to the case.

Mississippi Today has called the order "unconstitutional" and appealed to the state supreme court. Either way, Wolfe and her boss, Adam Ganucheau, have said there's no way they're giving up confidential sources. They say they would rather defy the court and face possible jail or, probably more likely, see their news organization get hammered with substantial damages.

What was once a story about poverty, power and Brett Favre, has now become a battle involving the First Amendment.

RileyG · Oct 6, 2024

essentialsaltes said:
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — In Mississippi, where elected officials have a long history of praising self-sufficiency and condemning federal antipoverty programs, a welfare scandal has exposed how millions of dollars were diverted to the rich and powerful — including pro athletes — instead of helping some of the neediest people in the nation.

That's sad.

essentialsaltes · Apr 7, 2025

essentialsaltes said:
At last someone may be going to jail for all the millions in welfare fraud in Mississippi!

She won a Pulitzer for exposing how the country's poorest state spent federal welfare money. Now she might go to jail.

Good news, everyone!

She will not go to jail, and we are reminded once again of how Governor Bryant is implicated in an illegal scheme to defraud welfare.

Judge tosses case.

RileyG · Apr 7, 2025

essentialsaltes said:
Good news, everyone!

She will not go to jail, and we are reminded once again of how Governor Bryant is implicated in an illegal scheme to defraud welfare.

Judge tosses case.

I’m happy to hear that.

$1 Million in Welfare Money to Favre Volleyball Project

Well-Known Member

You can't steal my joy

I can't believe what I'm hearing...

re Member

Standing with Ukraine.

Fact-Based Lifeform

That's grasping after the wind

Part of the IT crowd

[redacted]

Part of the IT crowd

Fact-Based Lifeform

Stuck on a ship.

Fact-Based Lifeform

Mississippi governor’s brother suggested that auditor praise Brett Favre during welfare scandal​

Fact-Based Lifeform

Mississippi governor’s brother suggested that auditor praise Brett Favre during welfare scandal​

Mississippi ex-governor expected stake in firm that got welfare money, says woman convicted in fraud​

Fact-Based Lifeform

She won a Pulitzer for exposing how the country's poorest state spent federal welfare money. Now she might go to jail.​

Future History Slab Carver

She won a Pulitzer for exposing how the country's poorest state spent federal welfare money. Now she might go to jail.​

Fact-Based Lifeform

She won a Pulitzer for exposing how the country's poorest state spent federal welfare money. Now she might go to jail.​

Veteran

Fact-Based Lifeform

She won a Pulitzer for exposing how the country's poorest state spent federal welfare money. Now she might go to jail.​

Veteran

Similar threads

Mississippi governor’s brother suggested that auditor praise Brett Favre during welfare scandal

Mississippi governor’s brother suggested that auditor praise Brett Favre during welfare scandal

Mississippi ex-governor expected stake in firm that got welfare money, says woman convicted in fraud

She won a Pulitzer for exposing how the country's poorest state spent federal welfare money. Now she might go to jail.

She won a Pulitzer for exposing how the country's poorest state spent federal welfare money. Now she might go to jail.

She won a Pulitzer for exposing how the country's poorest state spent federal welfare money. Now she might go to jail.

She won a Pulitzer for exposing how the country's poorest state spent federal welfare money. Now she might go to jail.