The window for the federal government to charge Brett Favre in connection with a 2019 meeting in his home is quickly closing. At present, Favre remains the sole member of the meeting who has not been charged in connection to a sprawling welfare scandal in Mississippi.
According to Front Office Sports, Favre allegedly hosted a sales presentation in January of that year to discuss Prevacus, a drug company founded by Jake VanLandingham. Prevacus, by the end of 2019, would be the recipient of over $2 million in federal welfare funds, eventually leading to VanLandingham’s indictment on July 24.
That scheme is at the center of over $90 million in misappropriated funds intended for the government’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which aids some of the poorest families in Mississippi, one of the poorest states in America.
Matt Tympanick, a criminal defense attorney who has followed the case closely, told Front Office Sports that the feds seemed to be taking their time prosecuting the ex-Packers quarterback.
“The feds are really taking this one down to the wire,” he said.
However, Jeffery M. Chemerinsky, a former federal prosecutor, has a different take. As he told the outlet, part of the reason for the delay is the complexity involved in building the case against Favre
.“White-collar cases…can involve complex issues of proving intent,” Chemerinsky told Front Office Sports. “As part of the investigation, there could be an extensive grand jury investigation. They could have developed some co-operators since the co-defendants entered into plea agreements. It could be that they’ve just very methodically put together a case knowing that they really weren’t under pressure.”
Chemerinsky also detailed one potential strategy that the prosecution could pursue.
“You can probably include acts outside the five years in order to tell a coherent story,” Chemerinsky said. “The key is that you need the last overt act within the conspiracy to have occurred within the five-year statute of limitations.”
In addition to VanLandingham, Nancy New, her son, Zach; John Davis; and Ted DiBiase Jr., the son of wrestling’s Teddy “The Million Dollar Man” DiBiase Sr., all faced charges in April 2023 based on allegations that they all received significant sums of money redirected from TANF funding sources. Everyone except for DiBiase either accepted a plea deal or is expected to take a plea deal to cooperate with the probe. DiBiase’s trial is scheduled to begin in January 2025.
Although Favre has been connected to approximately $8 million in stolen or misappropriated funds, he has remained without any charges related to his participation in the scheme. Text messages (and the Mississippi Department of Health Services lawsuit) indicate that Brett Favre allegedly had an understanding that the money he was receiving might not have been legitimate.
According to the lawsuit, “Favre understood that the TANF Funds that MCEC paid to the Foundation were “grant funds” paid on his behalf. Favre knew that John Davis was providing grant funds from MDHS to MCEC for construction of the volleyball facility, and he knew that MDHS is Mississippi’s “welfare agency.” Favre discussed the source of the funding—MDHS—with Jon Gilbert. And Favre texted Jake VanLandingham regarding Nancy New: “She has strong connections and gave me 5 million for Vball facility via grant money.”
The lawsuit continued, “Zachary New, a current member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation, has pleaded guilty to defrauding MDHS with respect to payments made under the USM Athletic Foundation Sublease. Through its directors and agents, including Brett Favre, Nancy New, and Jon Gilbert, the Foundation understood that the source of the funding was federal TANF grant funds paid to MDHS.”
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