According to a new court filing, former Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant directed a woman whose nonprofit received millions in subgrants from the Mississippi Department of Human Services welfare department to give NFL legend Brett Favre $1.1 million.
Nancy New, who is friends with Bryant’s wife, along with her son Zach, has pleaded guilty to several criminal charges, including bribery and fraud. As part of their plea, they have agreed to cooperate in an ongoing criminal investigation that has been referred to as the “largest public embezzlement scheme in state history.”
The revelation comes from Mississippi Today, which has been covering the story and Favre’s involvement since it first reported in October that the Green Bay Packers quarterback had been told to return $828,000 that he received from welfare funds that should have gone to needy families. Favre reportedly repaid around $600,000 but not the rest, which was considered interest.
Favre was, in theory, being paid for speaking engagements and business development opportunities.
In April they reported on the connection between Favre and Bryant as part of an investigation into funding that a drug company Favre was involved with received. Per their report, Favre texted the then-governor for help. Days later, he reached an agreement for a $1.7 million investment from welfare funds for biomedical startup Prevacus. Not so coincidentally, Bryant accepted stock in Prevacus just two days after leaving office in 2020.
According to the new filing, the News ended up paying Prevacus and its affiliate PreSolMD a total of $2.1 million as part of this arrangement.
Per Mississippi Today, the state of Mississippi could have used that money to provide 2,600 low-income families with a year’s worth of rent, electricity, child care, diapers, monthly transportation stipends, and nine meals a day.
The Mississippi Department of Human Services is suing Nancy New for $19.4 million and also alleges that she and 37 other defendants, including Favre, violated federal rules when they spent or received money from a federal block grant called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
It’s a pretty ugly situation and, if true, a pretty shameful act for Favre. You can read the whole report here.
