On Thursday, a Mississippi Supreme Court denied Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre’s motion to dismiss the charges levied against him in a lawsuit in connection with the Mississippi welfare scandal.
Favre has been accused of using state welfare funds to finance his own personal business endeavors, including the construction of a new volleyball stadium at his alma mater, Southern Miss, and a pharmaceutical startup company. Favre’s first motion to have the charges dismissed was denied in April, and he filed an appeal in May, per Anna Wolfe of Mississippi Today.
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The allegations against Favre are part of a statewide scandal in which politicians and nonprofit organizers conspired to misuse $77 million in state funds that were earmarked to help Mississippians in need. More than $7 million was funneled to Favre and his projects.
In response to Favre’s appeal being denied, the Mississippi Department of Human Services pointed out that the key organizers of the scandal have already pleaded guilty to criminal charges, and that the purpose of the suit against the former quarterback is solely to recoup the misspent money from the people who helped facilitate the fraud. Favre is not facing any criminal charges. Among those who pleaded guilty is Nancy New, who ran the nonprofit Mississippi Community Education Center that received millions in Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) funds.
“Brett Favre is one of those people,” the MDHS attorney wrote, per Wolfe. “Favre took $1.1 million in TANF funds from Nancy New for speeches he never made. Favre repaid that, but he has neither repaid the $1.7 million he arranged for his drug company, Prevacus, to receive in exchange for giving Nancy New stock, nor the $5 million he orchestrated the USM Athletic Department to receive for a volleyball facility.”
