JACKSON, Miss. In a case of welfare fraud in Mississippi, a defendant said that she had directed $1.1 million in welfare money at former NFL star Brett Favre under the direction of former Gov. Phil Bryant.
Mississippi news outlets report that Bryant is accused of making the accusation. The filing was made by Nancy New on behalf Bryant. New and Bryant were once co-owners of a Mississippi education company and a nonprofit organization.
Nancy New, 69, and Zachary New (39), pleaded guilty to criminal charges in April. They agreed to testify against other people in what the state auditor called Mississippi’s largest case of public corruption in the past 20 years.
She is appearing in court as part of a civil lawsuit filed by Mississippi Department of Human Services against Mississippi Community Education Center Inc. which was previously run by the New families. Her attorneys claim that she was acting under the direction of MDHS officials when they awarded various contracts and allocated funds.
Mississippi Today, a non-profit digital news agency that has extensively covered the welfare scandal, first reported Monday’s filing.
Bryant is specifically mentioned in regards to $1.1 Million in money Favre received from Bryant “in consideration of Favre speaking at events or keynote speaking on radio, and for business partner development.”
According to WAPT-TV, a spokesperson for the former governor issued a statement in which he denied the allegations.
“These accusations made against Gov. Bryant is false. All claims against these people were discovered and prosecuted by Gov. Bryant asked for the state auditor,” the statement stated.
The state auditor demanded $77 million in repayments from welfare funds that were misappropriated, including $1.1 million to the NFL’s retired quarterback.
Favre has been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing. He claimed that he didn’t know the money came from welfare funds. Also, he denied allegations by the auditor that he was being paid for events that he didn’t attend. Favre claimed that his charity had given millions of dollars to children in Mississippi and Wisconsin where he is a star player with the Green Bay Packers.