A number of sports figures with ties to the state are involved in the largest public corruption case in Mississippi.
John Davis, the former head of the state's Department of Human Services, pleaded guilty in September to federal and state charges. Davis will testify against other people. A mother and son have pleaded guilty to state charges.
Here are the sports figures named in a civil lawsuit, as well as the details from that suit, their responses, and whether or not they have been charged.
ETT FAVRE.
One of the stars of the scandal is the Hall of Famer, legendary Green Bay Packers quarterback, 1997 Super Bowl winner and University of Southern Mississippi graduate.
The Mississippi Community Education Center was paid more than one million dollars in welfare money by the state Department of Human Services. The idea was that the money would go to the new volleyball facility at Southern Miss, where the daughter of the quarterback was playing volleyball.
The interest on the money is still outstanding despite the fact that he repaid it.
Text messages made public in court show that in July of last year, the quarterback asked the governor if welfare money could be used to build an indoor practice facility for the football team. Bryant said that we have to follow the law.
The CEO of Prevacus was asked about using Human Services grant money for investing in company stock by the largest individual outside investor in the company, according to the lawsuit. State money went to Prevacus and PreSolMD.
The AP has multiple requests for comment from the man.
There is a man named Ted Di Biase. Tedy and Brad are the sons.
The Million Dollar Man was a fixture in pro wresting in the 1980's and 90's with his custom-made belt and slogan "everybody has a price" A Christian minister was later named Dibise. He is the owner of Heart of David ministries.
Teddy, who wrestled for World Wrestling Entertainment in the 2000s and 2010s, is connected to two limited liability companies based in Mississippi. The owner of Restore 2 is also a resident of the state. Brothers used to wrestle for a living.
The DiBiase men are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
The Heart of David Ministries received over one million dollars in welfare money. The organization was ordered to pay back money. DiBiase Development Inc. gave $250,000 to the oldest DiBise to be a motivational speaker.
DiBiase denied the state's allegations and asked for the lawsuit to be thrown out.
Over the course of two years, Teddy received over $3 million in federal anti-poverty funds. The services were not offered.
He was given the title of director of sustainable change despite not being employed by the state.
Teddy DiBiase was told a year ago that he needed to repay millions of dollars. He denies the allegations because he lacks knowledge or information enough to form a belief that the allegations are true.
A pro wrestler who also worked for the state human services department for about six months ended up working for another company. A $250,000 salary was paid in welfare funds from one nonprofit tied to Davis, as well as $130,000 in a separate payment of welfare funds from another organization. He received $48,000 from MDHS for more training, as well as creating his own company.
Welfare money was funneled through a nonprofit to pay $160,000 for DiBiase to be a full-time resident at a luxury substance abuse rehab facility in California.
After pleading guilty to a felony, he agreed to pay back the $48,000. The state auditor wanted to return $225,950.
He said in his reply that he is not guilty of any act, fault, or want of care, and that he had no knowledge of any false misrepresentations or sham agreements regarding illegal use of TANF funds. TANF is a form of assistance for needy families.
There is a man named Marcus Democratic.
Dupree was widely recruited as a high school running back in Mississippi and ended up going to Oklahoma but left midway through his sophomore season and graduated from Southern Miss.
Dupree returned to Mississippi after playing two seasons in the NFL.
The president of the Marcus Dupree Foundation was a celebrity endorser and motivational speaker. The lawsuit claims he was given a lot of money, but it didn't say how much. According to Mississippi Today, he made at least $100,000.
His foundation received hundreds of thousands of dollars in TANF funds that were used to purchase a 15-acre property for himself.
Dupree has not been charged and has refused to pay the money back. He denied the accusations in the lawsuit.
Paul LacoSTE.
He played in the Canadian Football League for a year after graduating from Mississippi State in the mid 1990s. He is a trainer and owner of a fitness business. He and the organization are named in the lawsuit.
According to the suit, Lacoste proposed to Davis that his nonprofit should get a piece of the welfare money for doing fitness training for public officials. According to Mississippi Today, the governor was a client of the company. The Victory Sports Foundation received a lot of money.
The state has failed to state a claim for breach of contract, according to anywayanydaynywayanydaynywayanyday. The filing states that Mississippi has a number of improper, conclusory misstatements of state and federal law.
There are other sports connections.
The Northeast Mississippi Football Coaches Association received $30,000 in welfare money in early 2019.
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