The Mississippi Supreme Court has declared that it will keep former NFL quarterback Brett Favre as a defendant in a civil lawsuit aiming to reclaim millions of misspent welfare funds designated to aid some of the most impoverished people in the United States.
The three panel of justices released a ruling on Wednesday, rejecting an appeal made by Favre. His legal representatives had presented written arguments in May, asserting that the Mississippi Department of Human Services’ claims against the Pro Football Hall of Famer lacks substantial legal basis.
“This will now allow the civil litigation to move forward, and MDHS is encouraged by that prospect and by the Supreme Court’s ruling,” Mississippi Department of Human Services Director Bob Anderson said in a statement after the order came down.
According to prosecutors, federal welfare funds amounting to millions, designated for economically disadvantaged residents of Mississippi, were purportedly squandered on initiatives endorsed by affluent or well-connected individuals between 2016 and 2019. It is considered the largest case of public fraud in the state’s history.
The Mississippi Department of Human Services sued its former director and Favre in May 2022 over the misuse of $77 million meant to help the neediest families in the nation’s poorest state.
The lawsuit contends that money from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program was improperly diverted, including to projects backed by Favre. Though no criminal charges have been levied against Favre, several individuals, including the former department director, have confessed to their roles in the financial mismanagement scheme.
According to The Clarion-Ledger, the state agency approved 167 out of 11,717 TANF applications in 2016. The former director and others involved in the scheme were able to reallocate the funds through subgrants for nonprofits that ostensibly were to help poor families. More than 19 percent…
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