"MDHS self-reported the information that initiated this investigation to former Gov. Nancy New and her son are also accused of transferring millions in TANF funds to their private businesses, White said. Before joining the staff at Mississippi Today in September of 2018, Anna worked for three years at Clarion Ledger, Mississippis statewide daily newspaper. Nancy New is a long-time political ally and financial supporter of Mississippis new Governor, Tate Reeves. And they did start an internal audit at the beginning of 2019. That report ultimately led to todays arrests, it said. The auditor's office said that the illicit money flowed through the Mississippi Community Education Center, a non-profit run by Nancy New and her son Zach New. Since then, the subgrantee process has changed and the state plan for TANF reflects those changes. The audit released less than a year later said that according to its budget, Victory Sports used the nearly $1.4 million welfare subgrant to pay for staff and coaches, a program design fee, equipment, an onsite nurse, marketing and other administration costs, and to purchase a $20,000 trailer and a $70,000 vehicle. Paul Lacoste did not return calls Tuesday morning. Copyright 2020 WLBT. Start a recurring donation of any amount to further this work and help hold public officials and those in power accountable. Mr. DiBiase never gave those classes, auditors said, because he was being treated for an opioid addiction at the Rise in Malibu rehab center in California. We did reach out to Davis attorney Merrida Coxwell for comment. Also, we have had a number of complaints concerning his services. Punjab refutes Shahid Khaqan's embezzlement allegations in flour scheme MDHS Embezzlement Part 1: Charges and evidence Editor's Note: This is Part 1 of a three part series NEMISS.NEWS will publish regarding the matter the state auditor has called the biggest embezzlement of public funds in Mississippi history. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. The Auditors office has made it clear that the investigation is ongoing and more arrests are still possible. April 14 (UPI) -- A former worker at the Art Institute in Chicago has pleaded guilty to carrying out a $2 million embezzlement scheme. Newis accused of using TANF funds for her personal use as well as for investing in private medical device companies. White was appointed State Auditor by then-Governor Phil Bryant in 2018, when State Auditor Stacy Pickering resigned. Feazell later turned herself into MDHS and Hinds County officials on Monday, February 28, 2022. Special agents from the office of State Auditor Shad White have arrested John Davis, who retired after 28 years with DHS on July 31, 2019. MDHS officials say former director John Davis created an environment of This inability to validity MCECs records is further complicated by the fact that the principals of MCEC are currently under indictment and essentially unavailable to MDHS to review any further documentation or answer questions.. By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with Mississippi Today. Davis and Smith created invoices to pay DiBiase TANF money for teaching classes about drug abuse, but DiBiase was in a luxury rehabilitation facility for his own drug use in California at the time and did not perform the services, White said. Feds: State auditor kept them in the dark on Mississippi welfare embezzlement bust. MDHS released a statement about the arrests. Nancy New and her son, Zach New, stand accused of using the News nonprofit, MCEC, to pay for DiBiases drug treatment using TANF funds, White said. A combination of both, the attorney answered. Looking for something special to get your mom for Mothers Day? They said Mr. Davis, along with Ms. New and Mr. New, used some of the embezzled funds to invest in medical device companies. As a nonprofit, your support is what powers our work. Uncovering the scheme goes back further than you may realize. State auditors did not say what precipitated the investigation and did not give a specific dollar amount for the money that they say was embezzled, only that it was in the millions. (T)heir immediate supervisor called a meeting with the staff in Myersville and told them that they had to document names of clients and activities performed in that center. If youre thinking of altering your workout routine, youre probably looking for new exercises and equipment to help you reach your fitness goals. There was also no answer at the main office of the Mississippi Community Education Center in Jackson. Mr. DiBiase, who comes from a professional wrestling family, did not immediately respond to an email request for comment. Founded in 2016 as the states first nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom, Mississippi Todays roots in Capitol coverage have grown to encompass a myriad of beats beyond politics and policy, including education, public health, justice, environment, equity, and, yes, sports. They were among 15 current and former Boston police officers charged in the alleged overtime scheme involving the evidence control unit. (WLBT) - 3 On Your Side is learning more about how the former head of the Mississippi Department of Human Services ran the agency and treated employees. He had the latitude to unilaterally disperse funds as he felt necessary or wanted to, Blanton confirmed. 0:27. Favre declined to be interviewed by Mississippi Today and could not be reached for comment by Forbes, and in 2020 tweeted that he love[s] Mississippi and I would never knowingly do anything to take away from those that need it most., Hey brother [his wife] Deanna and [I] still owe 1.1 million on Vball, Favre purportedly texted John Davis, the former head of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, according to Mississippi Today. You can only publish select stories individually not as a collection. She said that you were disrespectful.". Oxford University School executive director connected to DHS If youre not able to add the byline, please include a line at the top of the story that reads: This story was originally published by Mississippi Today and include our website, You cannot republish our editorial cartoons, photographs, illustrations or graphics without specific permission (contact our managing editor. Former MDHS employee arrested for embezzlement - WJTV The purported messages also show a request from Favre asking members of the group to help to pay a $1 million debt Favre owed to the University of Southern Mississippi for the volleyball court he promised the school. I dont care how politically connected a person may be. Hurst said federal law enforcement was not aware of the MDHS investigation until they read about it in media reports. We confirmed that it was John Davis who was making those approvals on the money. Phil Bryant and other officials in his home state in order to influence roughly $8 million in welfare payments for himself, pharmaceutical company Prevacus, and a volleyball court for the University of Southern Mississippi, according to an expose published last week Mississippi Todaythough Favre has not been charged criminally or accused of a crime. All TANF funds will go through the RFP process, Blanton said. Together, the nonprofits paid more than $3 million to retired WWE wrestler Ted DiBiase Jr. for little more than inspirational speaking and promotion and paid a six-figure salary to retired football player Marcus Dupree, plus covered the $9,500-a-month mortgage on his horse ranch. Purported text messages obtained by Mississippi Today show that Favre and Prevacus founder Jake Vanlandingham offered the governor and nonprofit director shares of Prevacus and offered to buy the head of MDHS a Ford F-150 Raptor truck in return for their help. Editorial cartoons and photo essays are not included under the Creative Commons license and therefore do not have the "Republish This Story" button option. Many more millions are yet to be accounted for and investigators have not revealed the involvement of any other figures, such as state leaders, in the scheme. It's unclear when they will be unsealed. Davis and Smith created invoices to pay DiBiase TANF money for teaching classes about drug abuse, but DiBiase was in a luxury rehabilitation facility for his own drug use in California at the time and did not perform the services, White said. ", Danny Blanton Chief Communications Officer with DHS did give us this statement. I'm the Executive Director. So,there was nothing illegal about those transfers, only how it was spent after that. Although the total amount of money embezzled has not been determined, Auditor White characterized it as the largest public embezzlement case in state history.. Representatives for the nonprofits have not returned several calls and emails over the last year. Executive Director John Davis was two-and-half-years into his time as head of the agency when they decided to add an Office of Inspector General within DHS. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). Mr. White said the arrests stemmed from an eight-month investigation into the misappropriation of funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which the state welfare agency administers. . You cant edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. DHS went on camera with WLBT to answer questions about what happened and what theyve changed to prevent the problem from happening again. You have to credit Mississippi Today. It ends today.. Start a recurring donation of any amount to further this work and help hold public officials and those in power accountable. Davis may face trial in September. "I now have the opportunity to focus on my family at home and pursue a position outside of state government," Davis wrote in a statement announcing his resignation. The funds were instead taken by a group of influential people for their own benefit, and the scheme is massive. Listen to this article Five of the six people accused in what could be the largest embezzlement scheme on record in Mississippi pleaded not guilty on Friday. The first announcement of the arrests was apparently made on the website of the (Brookhaven, MS) Daily Leader at 4:51 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5. Several people were arrested and charged on Feb. 5, 2020. The former director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services and several others have been arrested in what the state auditor said is the largest public embezzlement case in state history. Photo gallery: Equestrian program at Mississippi College, Nurse recounts horrors inside a Yazoo City nursing home, Coverage of Mississippis sprawling welfare scandal, Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. Ex-Mississippi DHS head arrested in embezzlement scheme, auditor says There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. The auditors office contradicted this notion, stating that the department has an obligation to ensure grant monies are expended properly. A phone number for Ms. McGrew was busy. The suspects were each released on their own recognizance Wednesday night, officials with the Hinds County Sheriff's Office said. Webb said she and her organizations financial officer visited WWISCAAs Greenville Center and found just one vehicle in the parking lot. (WLBT) - It was one week ago that the news broke of whats been called the largest public embezzlement case in state history. Mississippi welfare scheme: Former state official pleads guilty in The funds that were illegally obtained in this case were intended to help the poorest among us, Mr. White said in a statement Wednesday. Johnson said, "I was a special investigator, special investigator, a DHS investigator.". He attended public schools there and then obtained an undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi. by Anna Wolfe, Mississippi Today December 28, 2021, This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
. JACKSON, Miss. No one has been charged in connection with these purchases. 0:00. Mississippi's Ex-Welfare Director, 5 Others Arrested Over - NPR She asked if media coverage of an auditors investigation is initiated when a reporter asks the office a question or after the office publicizes the case. Here is what we know about them: John Davis was appointed director of DHS by former Gov. If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using. Emails obtained by Mississippi Today provide greater insight into the scope and type of foolery occurring within the federal grants. and I told him I was fine with it, you know that I was okay. With your help, we've gotten a lot done but we're not finished yet! All rights reserved. Create a recurring donation today to join our mission. Anyone can read what you share. Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization. Thats to be open with how funds are distributed and who theyre going to.. Anderson recently told a reporter that his agency had reinstated the practice of sending letters to subgrantees who are suspected of misusing grant funds, which he said Davis administration had stopped. The former director of Mississippis welfare agency was arrested on charges that he took part in a scheme to embezzle millions of dollars for personal use and to pay for a former professional wrestler to go to a luxury drug rehabilitation center, the state auditor announced on Wednesday. a proud member of the Mike Hurst, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, complained on Thursday, Feb. 6, the day after the arrests, that his office had not been notified in advance by the state auditors office. One of the nonprofits, Mississippi Community Education Center, shuttered after law enforcement arrested its owner Nancy New, while officials at the other nonprofit, Family Resource Center of North Mississippi, have not faced criminal charges. JACKSON, Miss. Johnson said, "she said well I did speak with Mr. Davis and he asked for you to be terminated.
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