OAN’s James Meyers
10:45 AM – Thursday, October 5, 2023
Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre has been scheduled to be deposed in a Mississippi lawsuit that alleges misuse of state welfare funds, according to court documents.
A notice of deposition was filed on Monday at the Hinds County Circuit Court by attorneys for Mississippi’s Department of Human Services. Favre will give a sworn testimony on October 26th at a hotel in Hattiesburg.
The NFL Hall of Famer and more than three dozen defendants are involved in the lawsuit after the Human Services director filed it to recover the welfare money. The Magnolia State’s state auditor Shad White claimed more than $70 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) welfare funds were misused and used on things that had nothing to do with needy families.
The TANF sued Favre and others last year citing a “gross misuse” of TANF funds.
However, the former Green Bay Packers quarterback has denied any wrongdoing and claimed that he paid back misspent welfare funds.
Favre was paid $1.1 million in state funds to make motivational speeches in 2017 and 2018, which he later repaid. However, White said last year the former quarterback still owes $228,000 in interest.
Meanwhile, Favre has repeatedly claimed his innocence stating he didn’t know the funds were welfare dollars and said he has done nothing wrong.
The United States Senate confirmed last week that a new U.S. attorney will take on the case after a delay of over a year.
Mississippi has ranked amongst the poorest states in the U.S. for several years. The Mississippi Department of Human Services has allowed well-connected people to waste away $77 million in federal welfare funds from 2016 to 2019, according to the state auditor and state and federal prosecutors.
According to White, Favre used $5 million to help fund a volleyball arena at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi, where his daughter played volleyball.
White alleged another $1.7 million went to the development of a concussion treatment drug, a project the former quarterback supported.
Furthermore, there have been no criminal charges brought against Favre, but a former department director and others involved have pleaded guilty to misspending.
Favre had also requested that the Hinds County Circuit Court and the Mississippi Supreme Court remove him as a defendant in the lawsuit, but both requests were denied.
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