FOCUS: #MSWelfare/TANF Scandal • Jackson Water • Abortion • Race & Racism • Policing • Incarceration • Housing & Evictions
Retired WWE wrestler Brett DiBiase pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States for his role in Mississippi’s massive welfare-fraud scandal.
Attorneys for Austin Smith, a defendant in a civil lawsuit over Mississippi’s massive welfare scandal case, have issued a subpoena to former Gov. Phil Bryant for a broad range of documents and communications related to the alleged misspending of $77 million in federal welfare funds.
Between 2016 and 2019, the Mississippi Department of Human Services and nonprofits associated with it allegedly misspent more than tens of millions of dollars in federal Temporary Assistance For Needy Families funds that should have gone to the poorest families in the poorest state. More than $5 million of those funds went toward a volleyball-stadium project at the University of Southern Mississippi favored by retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre and $1.1 million went to Favre himself.
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