Mississippi Department of Human Services sues Brett Favre, others over welfare misspending

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Brett Farve Biography

NFL quarterback Brett Favre attended the University of Southern Mississippi, and after a stellar college career, Favre was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the 1991 NFL draft. Following his trade to the Green Bay Packers the next year, Favre led the franchise to victory in Super Bowl XXXI. He was also named the league's MVP three years in a row. After shorter stints with the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings, Favre retired from football after the 2010 season. Additionally, Favre started every single Packer game from September 20, 1992, to January 20, 2008. Overall, Favre's ironman streak would run an amazing 297 games, an NFL record. Early in his NFL career, Favre developed a dependence on painkillers to bounce back from on-field injuries. A month in rehab wasn't enough to quell the habit, and the QB began ingesting up to 15 Vicodin pills per day even as he was putting up MVP numbers.

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Favre challenges judge's order to block his lead attorney in civil case​

Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre said a Mississippi judge improperly blocked his lead attorney from representing him in a state civil lawsuit that seeks to recover misspent welfare money. Using another of his attorneys, Favre filed an appeal Thursday asking the Mississippi Supreme Court to overturn the ruling that Hinds County Circuit Judge Faye Peterson issued July 11. The Mississippi Department of Human Services filed a civil lawsuit in 2022 against Favre and more than three dozen other people, groups and companies. The state auditor has said welfare money that was supposed to help some of the poorest residents in the U.S. was spent instead on projects pushed by wealthy and well-connected people, including a university volleyball arena backed by Favre.

Favre repaid $500,000 to the state in May 2020 and $600,000 in October 2021, White said in a court filing in February that Favre still owes $729,790 because interest caused growth in the amount he owed. Favre is not facing any criminal charges. Former Mississippi Department of Human Services director John Davis and others have pleaded guilty to misspending money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. White has said more than $77 million of welfare money was misspent from 2016 to 2019, including $160,000 for drug rehab for a former pro wrestler and thousands of dollars for airfare and hotel stays for Davis, who led the department during those years.

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Brett Favre reveals Parkinson's diagnosis at congressional hearing​

of Fame quarterback Brett Favre disclosed during a congressional hearing on Tuesday that he was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a degenerative nervous system disorder that causes parts of the brain to deteriorate and affects movement. Speaking before the House Ways and Means Committee, Favre spoke about Prevacus, a company making a concussion drug that received $2 million of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds. Favre was the top investor in Prevacus, and text messages show he began asking state officials for help securing funds for the company in November 2018.

Prevacus' founder, Jacob VanLandingham, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in July, admitting that he used Mississippi welfare money to pay off gambling and other debts. Favre spoke about his involvement in a sprawling Mississippi welfare case. At least$77 million in TANF funds, earmarked for poor families, were diverted to the rich and powerful, according to a 2019 Mississippi state audit. When asked in a 2018 interview how many concussions he suffered, Favre, 54, said he knows of only "three or four" but believes he could have suffered more than 1,000 concussions during his 20-season NFL career.

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Why was former Packers quarterback Brett Favre testifying to U.S. Congress about welfare funds in Mississippi?
Text messages show that Favre was working closely with Human Services executive John Davis and nonprofit director Nancy New, in an effort to fundraise money for a volleyball facility at the University of Southern Missisippi. Both Davis and New have been arrested for their role in misusing federal money from a program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), distributed to each state as a block grant. The volleyball facility construction used $5 million of federal dollars.
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An audit showed that Favre was paid $1.1 million for a speaking engagements for which he did not show; Favre denied he did not show but repaid the money by October 2021. Favre was first sued by Mississippi in May 2022.

 

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Brett Favre received Parkinson's diagnosis in January

Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre said he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in January after consulting with five doctors. In an interview published by TMZ Sports on Wednesday, one day after he disclosed his condition at a congressional hearing on welfare reform, Favre said he sought medical attention after experiencing minor symptoms. TMZ reported that Favre spoke to the outlet in August about "various football topics" but had asked the outlet not to report his diagnosis at the time. TMZ received permission from Favre after he disclosed the diagnosis himself Tuesday while testifying at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on welfare reform. He also described having trouble putting his arm through the sleeves of shirts and jackets.

The revelation about his health overshadowed Favre's testimony about the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families welfare funds at the heart of the sprawling Mississippi case in which he has been embroiled since 2022. At least $77 million in TANF funds, earmarked for poor families, were diverted to the rich and powerful, according to a 2019 Mississippi state audit. Favre is one of dozens of defendants in a lawsuit seeking to recoup the misappropriated funds. Favre, who was born, raised and still lives in Mississippi, threw 508 touchdown passes while playing for four NFL teams, including the Packers, with whom he won Super Bowl XXXI.

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