Former Green Bay Packers star QB Brett Favre has maintained that he did not know that money he was involved with diverting to sports programs was illegally transferred from a Mississippi welfare fund. Still, a new filing claims Favre knew the transfers were illegal.
Favre has been accused of conspiring with former head of Mississippi Department of Human Services chief John Davis who has been accused of transferring $5 million out of the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to fund Favre’s sports gifts to the University of Southern Mississippi.
According to federal rules, TANF funds are not supposed to be used for any construction project. But, text messages between Favre and Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant show the two discussing the transfer of the funds for Favre’s project.
Phil Bryant, governor of Mississippi, listens during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., on Monday, April 29, 2019. (Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In Feb., Favre filed a motion to dismiss him from a lawsuit filed by the state seeking to recoup the lost millions illegally distributed from the TANF funds. But in its March 13 reply, the Mississippi Dept. of Human Services revealed several examples of messages they say prove that Favre was fully aware that the funding was being diverted from the welfare program illegally.
The state filing noted that Favre was seen in text messages suggesting they bribe Davis with an expensive new truck to help grease the skids for the fund transfers.
In another message, Favre reportedly asked if they could keep his part of the transfers “confidential.”
“Will the public perception be that I became a spokesperson for various state-funded shelters, schools, homes, etc….and was compensated with state money? Or can we keep this confidential” Favre reportedly asked Nancy New, the former head of a non-profit through which the funds were transferred.
Brett Favre presents at the NFL Honors show at the YouTube Theater on February 10, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
According to a spokesman for Favre, he has now repaid all $1.1 million he got from the Mississippi Community Education Center (MCEC) “after he learned it was from welfare funds.” Favre also said he accepted the money for the services he provided for MCEC, including recording radio ads that aired in the state.
New and her son have both been convicted of fraud and are helping prosecutors expand their case. And former program chief John Davis is already serving a lengthy jail sentence for the scheme.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with information Breitbart News received after publication from a representative for Brett Farve, who claimed that Farve repaid all $1.1 million in welfare funds he received from the Mississippi Community Education Center, and that the amount transferred from the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to fund Favre’s sports gifts to the University of Southern Mississippi was $5 million, not $8 million. Farve’s representative added that the $5 million was approved by the state attorney general’s office.
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