In connection with an embezzlement scheme that auditors claim misused millions of welfare dollars, including by directing money into projects linked to notable Mississippians like former NFL star Brett Favre, a former top state official in Mississippi entered a guilty plea on Thursday to state and federal charges. The former director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, John Davis, has admitted guilt to two federal counts and 18 state crimes, according to representatives from the US Department of Justice and the Hinds County District Attorney’s Office.
Davis, 54, was the director of the Human Services Department at the time state auditors claimed more than $70 million in federal welfare payments were misappropriated, including being used for charity projects unrelated to the assistance program and for officials’ personal expenses. Davis and “his co-conspirators,” according to the DOJ, utilized federal funds “for their personal use and gain.”
Shad White DHS In Mississippi
The state auditor of Mississippi claims that DHS squandered millions of dollars in grant funding. Federal prosecutors stated in a news release that MDHS, “under Davis’s direction, gave federal cash to two nonprofit organisations and then instructed the two nonprofit organisations to falsely award contracts to various corporations and persons for social services that were never provided.”
The former state employee pled guilty to two federal crimes on Thursday, including one count of theft involving federally funded programmes and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and theft involving federally funded programmes, according to the DOJ. He might receive a five-year term. According to a tweet from Hinds County District Attorney Jody E.
Owens on Thursday, Davis also admitted guilt to five counts of conspiracy and 13 counts of fraud. As one of the most excellent embezzlement schemes in Mississippi history, “Davis was one of six defendants apprehended and later indicted in 2020,” Owens stated.
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According To The Auditor, 77 Million Dollars Were Allocated For A Welfare Programme.
A 2020 state examination of federal cash given to state agencies increased the extensive fraud operation. The plan was “the most flagrant misspending my employees have seen in their careers,” said State Auditor Shad White when he revealed the findings. In a legal document made on Monday as part of a civil action launched by the Mississippi State University, Brett Favre’s text messages were disclosed and connected to misused welfare monies by the Department of Human Services.
A court case involving misappropriated Mississippi welfare funding includes Brett Favre’s texts. The eight-month investigation revealed that the government gave The Mississippi Community Education Center and the Family Resource Center of North Mississippi more than $98 million. Of the $98 million, $94 million was “questionable,” which means that the auditors were either unable to identify whether it was lawfully spent or that it was definitely misappropriated.
According to the state auditor, almost $77 million was allocated for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programme, a state welfare programme. “I think what you had was a lot of money being pushed through a state entity that opted to then divert that money to,” White said to CNN last week about a charity. Before the auditor’s office started looking into it, there simply weren’t many checks on how that group was using this money “And then, you know, moving even farther into the future, I think that it’s crucial that we demonstrate to the general public that there will be repercussions for this.”
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New Volleyball Facility Opened At Favre’s Alma College.
Investigators claim that more than $4 million was spent on the construction of a volleyball centre backed by Brett Favre at the University of Southern Mississippi, where his daughter was a student-athlete at the time. More than 35 people and organisations, including a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, were named in a civil lawsuit brought by the state of Mississippi earlier this year.
SMS Messages
lawyers for the non-profit headed by Nancy New, who has previously pled guilty to crimes associated with the welfare funding scheme, released them last week as part of that civil lawsuit. They revealed conversations with Davis and the former governor of Mississippi, Phil Bryant, regarding the funds, as well as Favre talking about collecting money through New’s nonprofit and declaring his love for Davis after learning of the funding.
As of right now, no criminal charges have been brought against Bryant or Favre. Additionally, Bryant is not included as a defendant in the civil lawsuit. CNN was informed by the former quarterback’s lawyer that Favre, who retired from the NFL following the 2010 season and a 20-year career, was unaware that assistance payments were being used for the volleyball centre.
