State sues Favre, Dupree for welfare funds

State sues Favre, Dupree for welfare funds

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JACKSON — The state of Mississippi Department of Human Resources has sued several high-profile former athletes including former football stars Brett Favre and Marcus Dupree and ex-wrestler Ted DiBiase Sr., accusing them of welfare fraud.

The suit, filed May 10, alleges that the defendants “squandering” more than $20 million in welfare funds designated for the state’s poorest citizens. The suit comes two weeks after a mother and son, Nancy New and Zachary New, pleaded guilty to state criminal charges that they and their non-profit company misspent money from Mississippi’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families fund and agreed to testify against Favre and others.

“I applaud the team filing this suit and am grateful the state is taking another step toward justice for the taxpayers,” state Auditor Shad White said. “We will continue to work alongside our federal partners — who have been given access to all our evidence for more than two years — to make sure the case is fully investigated.”

The 52-year-old Favre is accused in the suit of pressuring Prevacus CEO Jake VanLandingham to ask Nancy New to use state welfare money to invest in VanLandingham’s biotech company, which has been developing a concussion treatment medication. A Mississippi native and Hall of Fame quarterback with the Green Bay Packers, Favre has in recent years been a major investor and stockholder in Prevacus.

Last year, White ordered Favre to repay $1.1 million in fees he obtained through his charitable foundation for speeches he never gave. Favre — who has not been charged criminally — has since repaid at least part of the money, but still owes more than $228,000 in interest.

Dupree — a former Oklahoma and NFL running back regarded as one of the greatest high school players in Mississippi history — is accused of using state welfare funds to buy a Madison horse farm, officials have said. Also named in the suit is Paul LaCoste, a former star linebacker at Mississippi State who later played in the Canadian Football League.

DiBiase — known during his wrestling career as the “Million Dollar Man” — is named in the suit along with his sons, Brett and Ted Jr., both of whom were also professional wrestlers. The elder DiBiase’s Heart of David Ministries Inc., received $1.7 million in welfare funds in 2017 and 2018, but reportedly misspent at least part of the money for things such as a stint in a drug rehabilitation clinic in California for Brett DiBiase.

Favre is also said to have hosted a Prevacus stock sales presentation in his home in 2019, an event attended by Nancy New, Zachary New, Ted DiBiase Jr. and John Davis, the former executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services. The lawsuit demands the repayment of $2.1 million that was given by the state to Prevacus and an affiliated company.

Davis was charged along with Nancy and Zachary New in early 2020, but is awaiting trial. He retired from his state job in 2019.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.






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