Brett Favre KNEW he was receiving public funds in welfare fraud scandal, state auditor Says

Brett Favre was concerned about the public learning he received federal funding for personal projects and hoped to keep that information ‘confidential,’ according to text messages the Hall of Fame quarterback wrote which are included in the latest filing in his legal battle with Mississippi and state auditor Shad White.

‘Will the public perception be that I became a spokesperson for various state funded shelters, schools, homes, etc. … and was compensated with state money?’ Favre asked in the text message included in the Mississippi filing and provided to DailyMail.com. ‘Or can we keep this confidential.’

As White explained in a Twitter thread on Monday, the text messages are significant because they purportedly show Favre ‘knew he was receiving ‘grant’ money intended to benefit people in ‘state funded shelters, schools, homes, etc.’

‘In other words,’ White wrote, ‘the poor.’

Favre has filed defamation lawsuits against White and two former NFL players-turned media personalities – Fox Sports’ Shannon Sharpe and podcaster Pat McAfee – over allegations he knowingly used welfare funds on personal projects, such as the development of a concussion drug in which the Packers legend was invested.

Brett Favre (left) was concerned about the public learning he received federal funding for personal projects and hoped to keep that information ‘confidential,’ according to text messages the Hall of Fame quarterback wrote which are included in the latest filing in his legal battle with Mississippi and state auditor Shad White (right) 

In one text message, Favre asked about the ‘brick and mortar issue,’ which the filing describes as his attempt to skirt a rules prohibiting the use of welfare funds on construction projects, such as the volleyball arena at Southern Miss

The 53-year-old Favre has not been charged in the $77 million welfare fraud case, which has already resulted in several guilty pleas, and he has repaid the $1.1 million he received for no-show speaking gigs and radio ads. However, in December, Mississippi issued a new $5million demand as part of its lawsuit against Favre, saying he used anti-poverty funds to pay for a volleyball arena at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi.

Last week, Mississippi’s Department of Human Services directed a state judge to ignore Favre’s request to be removed from the civil suit that seeks to recover the misspent welfare money.

The scandal is Mississippi’s largest-ever public corruption case, and involves millions in federal welfare being squandered on projects supported by some of the state’s wealthiest and well-connected citizens, including Favre.

Favre’s attorney Eric Herschmann – who previously represented Donald Trump – has argued that the Department of Human Services is suing his client to deflect from their own negligence for failing to catch the fraud as it occurred. Herschmann has filed a pair of requests urging the judge to dismiss Favre.

Department attorney Kaytie Pickett responded by characterizing the requests as a ‘long press release’ and ‘diatribe’ that ‘the court should disregard.’

Attorneys for Favre did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.  

This is a Friday, September 16, 2022 photograph of the volleyball courts in the Wellness Center at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The court was constructed with the help of a $5 million grant from the TANF program 

The Department sued Favre and more than three dozen other individuals and business last year.

In the filing, the Department claims $5 million was misspent on a volleyball stadium at the University of Southern Mississippi, where Favre’s daughter was playing the sport at the time, and another $1.7 million to develop the concussion drug.

Thus far, former Department director John Davis as well as non-profit organizer Nancy New have pleaded guilty to criminal charges.

Although he admits to being paid in return for radio spots and no-show speaking gigs, Favre has maintained that he did not know the origin of the funds.

But White has insisted that is not the case, and points to recent filings in the state lawsuit to contradict Favre’s defense.

In one text message, Favre asked about the ‘brick and mortar issue,’ which the filing describes as his attempt to skirt a rules prohibiting the use of welfare funds on construction projects, such as the volleyball arena at Southern Miss.

Mississippi’s lawsuit against Favre was filed less than two weeks after a mother and son who ran a nonprofit group and an education company in Mississippi pleaded guilty to state criminal misspending charges. Nancy New (left), 69, and Zachary New (right), 39, agreed to testify against others

John Davis, former director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, leaves the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson on September 22. Davis pleaded guilty to new federal charges in a conspiracy to misspend tens of millions of dollars that were intended to help needy families in one of the poorest states

But according to the state filing: ‘He sought to secretly obtain those funds for that purpose anyway.’

‘The point is that there are multiple exchanges where Favre stressed the need for secrecy,’ White tweeted. ‘National news has talked about how Favre said in one text that he didn’t want the media to find out. This wasn’t a one-off, transient thought, though. He said it repeatedly.’

Furthermore, White explained, the text messages show Favre’s awareness of potential legal issues.

‘Favre was aware there were concerns about the legality of spending this money on a volleyball court . . . [a]nd he knew there was a need to get around those rules,’ White tweeted.

‘Bear in mind, this is the guy suing me for defamation for having the temerity to tell taxpayers the truth: that Favre knew he was being paid in public funds and he knows this was a sham.’

If the text messages do prove Favre knowingly received federal welfare money intended for the state’s poor, that could be used by White, Sharpe and McAfee because truth is an absolute defense in a defamation case.