Brett Favre seems to be getting deeper into trouble as the investigation into the Mississippi Welfare Fund fraud case has taken yet another interesting turn today. The former NFL quarterback for the Green Bay Packers has been accused of taking funds meant to help the poorest of the people in society and instead using them to build a new volleyball stadium that was designed by Favre.
As per Mississippi Today, the State entered into evidence the text messages that were exchanged between former Governor Phil Bryant and Brett Favre, there is currently a civil lawsuit going on that could hold the former quarterback liable for misusing state funds. These texts showcase Favre pushing for the volleyball complex to be established at the University of Southern Mississippi, his alma mater.
Brett Favre was actively supported by the former Governor of Mississippi in his plot to misuse the welfare funds:
From the texts, it is clear that Favre was making a reference to the funds that the state welfare agency had and since the money was meant to go through the agency, he reached out to the Governor to ease the process and smooth things over. At this time, Favre’s daughter was an active volleyball player at Southern Miss.
The texts also incriminate the former Governor, Phil Bryant as he was the one who guided the Packers quarterback on how to draft the funding proposal in such a manner that the Mississippi Department of Human Sciences would have no option but to accept and approve it. One of the texts was sent following the firing of John Davis, the director of the welfare agency for allegations of fraud. The irony is that the Governor fired him for the very act that he is now being accused of.
Here are some key messages that emerged from the evidence presented in court:
Brett Favre was constantly in touch with Nancy New, the founder of a nonprofit organization. She acted as the intermediary between Favre and Phil Bryant. The texts include a lot of messages where Brett Favre is seen repeatedly asking if the media and public can find out where or to whom the funds were diverted to. Nancy New reassures him that there is no way that the public will find out about this deal.
The texts also indicate that Favre was concerned about the new Director of the Department of Human Sciences and reached out to the former Governor to see if he would negatively affect the funding plans for the volleyball center. The former Governor reassured him that there was no cause for concern.
“Ï will handle that,” Bryant stated in one of the texts to Favre. The new messages also expose the intentions of Phil Bryant, Brett Favre, Nancy New, and others who colluded in order to divert nearly $5 million worth of funds meant for the welfare of the people towards building a new stadium.
Mississippi Today reveals that the former Governor has vehemently denied and continues to deny any involvement in this scheme but the text messages clearly ruin his defense as one of the conversations that happened involved an interesting conversation, the subject of which was considering naming the new stadium after the former Governor himself.
Nancy New, who is a close friend of the former Governor’s wife, was in charge of a nonprofit organization that was given the autonomy of spending millions of federal welfare dollars in a flexible manner and outside of the public purview. This led to the biggest public fraud case in the State of Mississippi as the state auditor’s office discovered that nearly $77 million worth of funds has been misused.
As a result, Nancy New plead guilty to 13 felony counts but Brett Favre and the former Governor are yet to be charged with any crimes. The FBI had questioned the quarterback in September with respect to the whole case. The State had given Favre nearly $1.1 million in 2017-18 to deliver speeches but the twist was that he never delivered a single speech but received all the money in time.
Brett Favre was compelled to return this money with interest accrued by the State Auditor, though the quarterback has paid off the $1.1 million, he is yet to pay the $228,000 interest. Brett Favre’s $1.1 million speaking bonus was a way for him to get more money invested into the volleyball project. The new volleyball stadium may provide a lot of opportunities for athletes and may have actually been established for a good cause but it does not justify the fact that it was built on a foundation of lies and is one of the biggest fraudulent purchases made within the welfare fund scandal.
The State is not pursuing the matter in the ongoing civil complaint as per Mississippi Today’s report. Tate Reeves, the existing Governor of the State fired the attorney responsible for representing the State when he attempted to subpoena the documents that were necessary for the stadium.
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