Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre speaks to the media, Oct. 17, 2018, in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
Once again, the Mississippi State Auditor’s Office has called on Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre to repay one of the nation’s most poverty-stricken states for welfare funds that officials say he misspent, according to court records obtained by Law&Crime.
Mississippi state auditor Shad White writes in an 86-page answer-and-counterclaim to Favre’s defamation suit against him that beyond the “black heart of a scheme” hatched to defraud Mississippi, Favre still owes roughly $730,000 after he was ordered to pay back $1.1 million he “had no legal right to” after improperly receiving it for so-called “speaking fees” and other projects.
Law&Crime previously reported on the scandal, noting the involvement of former Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) director John Davis and nonprofit director Nancy New — who admittedly used millions in Mississippi’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) funds to build a volleyball arena at Favre’s alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi. Favre’s daughter played volleyball at the school.
According to a statement from the auditor’s office this week, “Mississippi’s Constitution and laws require that the State Auditor act to protect the taxpayers and fully collect all public funds which Mr. Favre received from Nancy New and John Davis.”
In 2020, Favre repaid Mississippi $500,000 that May and paid $600,000 in the fall of 2021. But White says Favre still owes a little under $730,000 since interest has accrued on his initial debt.
“It boggles the mind that Mr. Favre could imagine he is entitled to the equivalent of an interest-free loan of $1.1 million in taxpayer money, especially money intended for the benefit of the poor,” White said Monday.
The retired footballer has been unable to cash in on defamation lawsuits he has filed against other parties in recent years, including his legal claims against former NFL athletes Shannon Sharpe and Pat McAfee, The Associated Press reported Monday. The suit against Sharpe was dismissed by a judge, and the one against McAfee was voluntarily dropped by Favre after McAfee issued an on-air apology for saying Favre had stolen from the poor people of Mississippi.
There have been no criminal charges filed against Favre. An attorney for Favre did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.
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