Top politicians and millionaires ransacking the welfare budget for personal gains. No shame. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/po...money-pay-brett-favre-speeches-neve-rcna45871 The nation's poorest state used welfare money to pay Brett Favre for speeches he never made The state auditor says $70 million in federal welfare funds went to Favre, a volleyball complex and a former pro wrestler in a scandal that has rocked Mississippi. Sept. 2, 2022, 6:13 AM +08 By Ken Dilanian and Laura Strickler Brett Favre earned nearly $140 million as a star NFL quarterback over two decades and millions more in product endorsements. But that didn’t stop the state of Mississippi from paying Favre $1.1 million in 2017 and 2018 to make motivational speeches — out of federal welfare funds intended for needy families. The Mississippi state auditor said Favre never gave the speeches and demanded the money back, with interest. Favre has repaid the fees, although not the $228,000 in interest the auditor also demanded. But the revelation by the auditor that $70 million in TANF welfare funds was doled out to a multimillionaire athlete, a professional wrestler, a horse farm and a volleyball complex are at the heart of a scandal that has rocked the nation’s poorest state, sparking parallel state and federal criminal investigations that have led to charges and guilty pleas involving some of the key players. Favre hasn’t been accused of a crime or charged, and he declined an interview. His lawyer, Bud Holmes, said he did nothing wrong and never understood he was paid with money intended to help poor children. Holmes acknowledged that Favre had been questioned by the FBI in the case, a fact that hasn’t previously been reported. The saga, which has been boiling at low grade for 2½ years, drew new attention in July, when the state welfare agency fired a lawyer who had been hired to claw back some of the money, just after he issued a subpoena seeking more information about the roles of Favre and the former governor, Phil Bryant, a Republican. The current governor, Republican Tate Reeves, acknowledged playing a role in the decision to sack Brad Pigott, accusing the former Bill Clinton-appointed U.S. attorney of having a political agenda. But the state official who first uncovered the misspending and fraud, auditor Shad White, is a Republican. In his first television interview since he was fired, Pigott said his only agenda was to get at the truth and to recoup U.S. taxpayer funds sent to Mississippi that he says were “squandered.” “The notion of tens of millions of dollars that was intended by the country to go to the alleviation of poverty — and to see it going toward very different purposes — was appalling to many of us,” he said. “Mr. Favre was a very great quarterback, but having been a great NFL quarterback, he is not well acquainted with poverty.” Pigott, who before he was fired sued on behalf of Mississippi’s welfare agency, naming Favre and 37 other grant recipients, laid ultimate blame at the feet of top Mississippi politicians, including Bryant. “Governor Bryant gave tens of millions of dollars of this TANF welfare money to a nonprofit led by a person who he knew well and who had more connections with his political party than with the good people in Mississippi who have the heart and the skills to actually cajole people out of poverty or prevent teenage pregnancies,” he said. In an interview with Mississippi Today, Bryant said he never knew the grants came from welfare money. His lawyer didn’t respond to requests for comment. The person in charge of the nonprofit group Pigott was referring to is Nancy New, a close friend of Bryant’s wife. New and her son have pleaded guilty to state and federal charges and agreed to cooperate. New, a key player in doling out the money, said in a court document that Bryant was among those involved in directing the transactions. Her lawyer declined to comment. The former head of the state welfare agency, John Davis, has pleaded not guilty to state charges of bribery and conspiracy, and law enforcement officials say the investigations continue. Favre defended himself in a series of tweets last year against charges from state auditor White that he accepted state money for speeches he never intended to give. “I would never knowingly take funds meant to help our neighbors in need, but for Shad White to continue to push out this lie that the money was for no-show events is something I cannot stay silent about,” Favre tweeted. The speeches aren’t the only welfare grants tied to Favre. Text messages obtained by the website Mississippi Today and authenticated by Pigott show that Favre sought a $3.2 million grant to a drug company in which he was a shareholder and a $5 million award that built a volleyball arena at the University of Southern Mississippi, where his daughter played the sport and where he played football. Favre’s lawyer declined to comment. The drug company, Prevacus, was touting treatments to mitigate the effects of concussions, although none were approved by the Food and Drug Administration. In some texts, Favre suggested awarding shares in the drug company to Bryant while he was governor.
Of course there is a larger context of Makers versus Takers --- beyond the program fraud exposed in the Favre situation.
Clearly Favre and co thought that money was there for them to take. Or was that entitlement? The attitude of the rich and powerful is no different than that of the poor and destitute. If there's a way to get something for nothing...
I now think Brett Favre will be a suitable Republican Governor or Republican Senator in the state of Mississippi. wrbtrader
It's interesting that the only person facing criminal punishment in this Mississippi welfare scandal is the reporter who broke the story. Reporter Who Broke Brett Favre Welfare Scandal Could Face Jail Time for Not Giving Up Confidential Sources: Report https://www.mediaite.com/sports/rep...or-not-giving-up-confidential-sources-report/