Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories. We confirmed that it was John Davis who was making those approvals on the money. Though text messages show Bryant accepted an offer to receive Prevacus shares after he left office, Bryant told Mississippi Today he had no intention of accepting the stock. All of this is being put in place to make sure the sins of the past never recur in the future, added Blanton. You have to credit Mississippi Today. Transparency: Is Mississippi spending too much or not enough money on childrens programs? Thats to be open with how funds are distributed and who theyre going to.. But their counsel argued that a broader order that prevented White and Anderson from discussing Davis tenure overall such as policies, procedures and events separate from the criminal charges would be too restrictive and prevent them from being transparent with the public about ongoing investigations and findings. They then converted funds to their personal use and concealed the conversion through various fund transfers, fraudulent documents, at least one forged signature and deceptive accounting measures, investigators said. I said well what is the reason? Theres a lot of flexibility given for how states use TANF funds. Please refresh the page and/or try again. Uncovering the scheme goes back further than you may realize. It ends today.. Theyve also started bringing in subgrantees for training on whats expected and how they can best meet federal guidelines. The complexity of the cover-up was as such that it wouldve been highly unlikely that anybody wouldve uncovered it, except by being able to find it from within, Blanton said. DHS spokesperson Danny Blanton rejected the auditors narrative that the department concealed fraud reports from the auditors office. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. "MDHS would like to thank the Office of the State Auditor investigators for their diligent work in seeing this investigation through," the post said. Wooten said it appears as if the officials are attempting to try Davis case in the media. Mississippi welfare embezzlement scandal: What we know so far. Nine of them have pleaded guilty to embezzlement charges . {"requests":{"event":"https:\/\/mississippitoday.org\/wp-content\/plugins\/newspack-popups\/includes\/..\/api\/campaigns\/index.php"},"triggers":{"trackPageview":{"on":"visible","request":"event","visibilitySpec":{"selector":"#c237","visiblePercentageMin":50,"totalTimeMin":250,"continuousTimeMin":100},"extraUrlParams":{"popup_id":"id_989879","cid":"CLIENT_ID(newspack-cid)"}}}} We do not sell or share your information with anyone. As a reminder, the scheme includes more than $4.15 million dollars in embezzled government money. Theres a lot of flexibility given for how states use TANF funds. As a nonprofit, your support is what powers our work. The auditors office contradicted this notion, stating that the department has an obligation to ensure grant monies are expended properly. Nancy New and her son Zach New are scheduled to stand trial on welfare embezzlement charges in October. Favre declined to be interviewed by Mississippi Today and could not be reached for comment by Forbes, and in 2020 tweeted that he love[s] Mississippi and I would never knowingly do anything to take away from those that need it most., Hey brother [his wife] Deanna and [I] still owe 1.1 million on Vball, Favre purportedly texted John Davis, the former head of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, according to Mississippi Today. She explained that she quit due to fear of losing her license and the requirements of the supervisor. You deserve answers. This inability to validity MCECs records is further complicated by the fact that the principals of MCEC are currently under indictment and essentially unavailable to MDHS to review any further documentation or answer questions.. He had the latitude to unilaterally disperse funds as he felt necessary or wanted to, Blanton confirmed. The documentation submitted by the News claimed this was to pay DiBiase for conducting training classes that never, in fact, took place, investigators said. We look forward to this moving through the justice system to a final disposition.. The documentation submitted by the News claimed this was to pay DiBiase for conducting training classes that never, in fact, took place, investigators said. Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. Indictments were not found on the electronic courts site for Hinds County. DiBiase was allegedly paid to teach classes about drug use and instead used the money to pay for his own drug rehabilitation in Malibu, California. She said that you were disrespectful.". Therefore, while doing our due diligence, Paul LaCoste was asked not to use Families First for Mississippis brand and his funding was suspended. The two nonprofits ran an anti-poverty program called Families First for Mississippi, through which most of the money that was allegedly stolen, $4.15 million, or potentially misspent, $94 million, flowed. As a nonprofit, your support is what powers our work. Davis and Smith are accused of fraudulently manufacturing documents to benefit DiBiase using TANF money, White said. A phone number for Ms. McGrew was busy. The former director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services and several others have been arrested in what the state auditor said is the largest public embezzlement case in state history. Special agents from the office of State Auditor Shad White have arrested John Davis, the former director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, and five others in a multimillion-dollar embezzlement scheme. As a reminder, the scheme includes more than $4.15 million dollars in embezzled government money. He added that, Anything they gave to the campaign will be there waiting to return to the taxpayers and help the people it was intended for. The first announcement of the arrests was apparently made on the website of the (Brookhaven, MS) Daily Leader at 4:51 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5. You do not have the right to treat taxpayer money as your own or to lie to the taxpayers about what youre doing with that money. It is also charged that DiBiase was paid state money for drug education work that he did not perform. Gov. However, in saying that, we want to be good stewards of all financial support. The indictments, which were returned by a Hinds County grand jury, include a range of violations involving fraud and embezzlement, White said in a news release. By the time these meetings occurred in April, July and August of 2020 former welfare department director John Davis, who was indicted last year for his critical role in the alleged scheme, had been retired for about a year. So,there was nothing illegal about those transfers, only how it was spent after that. Davis resigned as head of MDHS in July, 2019. People may have identified or suspected that something was amiss but, because of the atmosphere of fear and intimidation, they were afraid to say anything for fear of losing their jobs, noted Blanton. We certainly do not want to falsely accuse. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Johnson said, "I never had any problems prior to that. Newly unearthed text messages show Favre at the center of a scandal dating back to 2020, when a political appointee of the governor and nonprofit head, among others, were arrested for misusing federal welfare funds, some of which benefitted Favre personally as well as causes with which he was involved. As we reported, the Mississippi Community Education Center or MCEC was a sub grantee receiving TANF dollars that first flowed through DHS. Auditor Shad White said his office is still attempting to determine the total amount of money involved, but the "sprawling conspiracy" already exceeds any embezzlement scheme in recent years. The defendants used a variety of business entities and schemes to defraud the taxpayers, investigators said. Follow him on Twitter @gbolognaCL. He resigned in July 2019, at about the same time the auditor's office began its investigation. Mike Hurst, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, complained on Thursday, Feb. 6, the day after the arrests, that his office had not been notified in advance by the state auditors office. State auditors did not say what precipitated the investigation and did not give a specific dollar amount for the money that they say was embezzled, only that it was in the millions. 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John Davis, former director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, was arrested within the largest alleged public embezzlement case in state history. The money was stolen from TANF funds, federal money entrusted to the state for needs of the poor. "We look forward to this moving through the justice system to a final disposition.". Logan Reeves, a spokesman for the auditor's office, said all the arrests were made Wednesday. John Davis, then executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, at a hearing in Jackson, Miss., in 2016. retired in 2019 from the Department of Human Services. Anderson recently told a reporter that his agency had reinstated the practice of sending letters to subgrantees who are suspected of misusing grant funds, which he said Davis administration had stopped. Phil Bryant and other officials in his home state in order to influence roughly $8 million in welfare payments for himself, pharmaceutical company Prevacus, and a volleyball court for the University of Southern Mississippi, according to an expose published last week Mississippi Todaythough Favre has not been charged criminally or accused of a crime. She explained that they were absolutely doing nothing in either center.. Also, we have had a number of complaints concerning his services. Former Green Bay Packers Quarterback and Hall of Famer Brett Favre has been accused of using his "special access" to former Mississippi Gov. With your help, we've gotten a lot done but we're not finished yet! DHS went on camera with WLBT to answer questions about what happened and what they've changed to prevent the problem from happening again. New sent a similar email to former Department of Human Services Director Christopher Freeze, who took over for Davis a few months after Davis retired in 2019. Zach New was arrested in connection with the Mississippi Department of Human Services embezzlement scheme earlier this week. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS). Earlier news reports indicated that the initial inquiry into the MDHS scandal may have been kicked off by Governor Bryant himself. Special agents from the office of State Auditor Shad White have arrested John Davis, who retired after 28 years with DHS on July 31, 2019. Founded in 2016 as the states first nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom, Mississippi Todays roots in Capitol coverage have grown to encompass a myriad of beats beyond politics and policy, including education, public health, justice, environment, equity, and, yes, sports. 0:27. There really hadnt been the internal auditing capability, the program integrity ability before that we had at that point that was created, explained DHS Chief Communications Officer Danny Blanton. When it comes to finding the misspending detailed in the indictments, this was the atmosphere at the agency at the time. There really hadnt been the internal auditing capability, the program integrity ability before that we had at that point that was created, explained DHS Chief Communications Officer Danny Blanton. READ MORE: Coverage of Mississippis sprawling welfare scandal. a proud member of the Phil Bryant's office in June 2019. Create a recurring donation today to join our mission. We prefer Author Name, Mississippi Today in the byline. Mr. DiBiase never gave those classes, auditors said, because he was being treated for an opioid addiction at the Rise in Malibu rehab center in California. You can only publish select stories individually not as a collection. Mississippi Auditor Shad White attends Cindy Hyde-Smith's watch party at the Westin Jackson Wednesday, November 27, 2018. Others doing this kind of thing are on notice: this will not be tolerated now, White said in a statement. At Davis direction, MCEC used TANF money received from DHS to pay for DiBiases opioid treatment at the Rise in Malibu facility, White said. But the criminal charges only scratch the surface: Under Davis leadership, independent auditors have found $70 million in improper purchases with federal public assistance dollars. White and Anderson did not object to being included in the gag order, agreeing to refrain from discussing Davis criminal culpability. Shad White:Transparency: Is Mississippi spending too much or not enough money on childrens programs? DHS went on camera with WLBT to answer questions about what happened and what theyve changed to prevent the problem from happening again. What it looks like is that one side of the story is being put out there, Wooten said. The auditor's office said that the illicit money flowed through the Mississippi Community Education Center, a non-profit run by Nancy New and her son Zach New. Federal authorities and internal investigators at Mississippi Department of Human Services eventually began investigating the subgrantee, 100 Black Men of Jackson, an agency spokesperson told Mississippi Today on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear Wednesday night if Mr. Davis or the other five charged had lawyers, and no one answered the phone at the homes of Mr. Davis, Ms. New, Mr. New and Mr. Smith. The former head of the Mississippi Department of Human Services has been arrested as part of a multi-million dollar embezzlement scheme that among other things paid for a former professional wrestler to go to a luxury drug rehabilitation center in California, the state auditor announced Wednesday. I dont care how politically connected a person may be. The Auditors office has made it clear that the investigation is ongoing and more arrests are still possible. If youre thinking of altering your workout routine, youre probably looking for new exercises and equipment to help you reach your fitness goals. Brett DiBiase was a former professional wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment,who later worked at DHS as the deputy director of transformational change, according to his LinkedIn page. . This investigation demonstrates the strengthened controls we have put in place to identify, investigate, and prosecute fraud, waste, and abuse at any level, by any individual, MDHS Executive Director Robert G. Bob Anderson said. DiBiase is the son of well-known former pro wrestler Ted DiBiase. We could not cease funding until we had that letter from the state auditor (in January 2020). The community action agency did not return calls to Mississippi Today Tuesday morning. and I told him I was fine with it, you know that I was okay. Others doing this kind of thing are on notice: This will not be tolerated now., Former Mississippi Welfare Director Charged With Embezzling Millions, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/us/john-davis-mdhs-brett-dibiase.html. You cant edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. Theyve also started bringing in subgrantees for training on whats expected and how they can best meet federal guidelines. The report also said Victory Sports charged a fee for participants in the boot camp to attend and it did not conduct any kind of eligibility to ensure it was serving those in need. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The audit released Tuesday also criticized the welfare department for continuing to fund two now-embattled nonprofits well into fiscal year 2020, as Mississippi Today first reported last July, even after learning that the auditor suspected they were responsible for the misspending of tens of millions of welfare dollars, the audit said. NEMiss.NEWS is a locally owned and operated online news magazine containing news, information, opinion, etc. Hurst said federal law enforcement was not aware of the MDHS investigation until they read about it in media reports. The defendants used a variety of business entities and schemes to defraud the taxpayers, investigators said. You do not have the right to treat taxpayer money as your own or to lie to the taxpayers about what youre doing with that money. Zach New, Nancy's son, is the assistant executive director of the Mississippi Community Education Center and is also accused ofusing TANF funds for personal use as well as for investing in private medical device companies. Latimer Smith is a former employee of DHS. The indictment alleges his agency entered a $48,000 contract with ex-wrestler Brett DiBiase to conduct opioid addiction education courses, and paid him knowing he wasnt conducting the work because he was in rehab. Persons arrested by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Mississippi Community Education Center has also failed to turn over documents the agency needs to complete its forensic audit or conduct a full grant closeout the departments process for ensuring the nonprofit complied with grant requirements and spent the funds properly.
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