The indictments, which were returned by a Hinds County grand jury, include a range of violations involving fraud and embezzlement, White said in a news release. 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. White confirmed in an interview earlier today that Governor Bryant, himself a former state auditor, was indeed the whistleblower who brought the case to the state auditors office in June. As a nonprofit, your support is what powers our work. Theres a lot of flexibility given for how states use TANF funds. Brett DiBiase pleads guilty in human services embezzlement scheme Keisha Rowe Mississippi Clarion Ledger 0:00 2:16 Brett DiBiase, a former deputy administrator for the Mississippi Department. 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. Suspected fraud can be reported to MDHS online any time by submitting the MDHS Fraud Tip Form athttps://www.mdhs.ms.gov/report-fraud/, calling the Fraud Tip Line at 1-(800)-299-6905, or email at fraud@mdhs.ms.gov. The Mississippi Department of Human Services has hired a new law firm to recover money that was misspent as part of the state's welfare fraud case. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. wrestler Brett DiBiase, 31, who state auditors said was paid with welfare funds for teaching classes about drug use. District Attorney John Weddle's office will prosecute the case. Help keep the momentum going by rejoining our member community today. Persons arrested by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Toy Truck Drive. The two nonprofits ran an anti-poverty program called Families First for Mississippi, through which most of the money that was allegedly stolen, $4.15 million, or potentially misspent, $94 million, flowed. Davis and Smith are accused of fraudulently manufacturing documents to benefit DiBiase using TANF money, White said. Editorial cartoons and photo essays are not included under the Creative Commons license and therefore do not have the "Republish This Story" button option. A combination of both, the attorney answered. According to a Mississippi Today review of public records, the agency sent out 110 letters during roughly the last year under Anderson compared to four letters in fiscal year 2019 under Davis. Also, we have had a number of complaints concerning his services. Others doing this kind of thing are on notice: this will not be tolerated now, White said in a statement. New is the executive director of Oxford University School. We could not cease funding until we had that letter from the state auditor (in January 2020). Auditor:State agencies must improve when it comes to cybersecurity. Davis has pleaded not guilty. I dont care how politically connected a person may be, Mr. White said. A phone number for Ms. McGrew was busy. The complexity of the cover-up was as such that it wouldve been highly unlikely that anybody wouldve uncovered it, except by being able to find it from within, Blanton said. As a nonprofit, your support is what powers our work. 0:53. DHS spokesperson Danny Blanton rejected the auditors narrative that the department concealed fraud reports from the auditors office. If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using. MDHS discusses largest embezzlement scheme in state history, upcoming policy changes, Mother arrested for leaving children home alone to go to gym, police say, Suspect accused of kidnapping, raping child in South Memphis pleads not guilty, Whitehaven mourns loss of high school band director, City of Memphis takes formal stance on 5-year residency requirement for mayoral candidates. Their own outcome reports that they sent the state each month, which were meant to show how many people they served, contained nonsensical figures, Mississippi Today first reported. 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. Anna has received national recognition for her work, including the 2021 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting, the 2021 Collier Prize for State Government Accountability, the 2021 John Jay/Harry Frank Guggenheim Excellence in Criminal Justice Reporting Award, the 2020 Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award and the February 2020 Sidney Award for reporting on Mississippis debtors prisons. Check out these great suggestions. following organizations: Whoops! Records are kept for all cases from the last 20 years. The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. 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. She said its unfair that State Auditor Shad White, who initially investigated the scheme, and current Mississippi Department of Human Services Director Bob Anderson are free to make comments about Davis leadership while Davis is bound by a gag order and unable to respond. We hear from a former employee who is just one of many who were fired by Davis. The indictments were filed under seal in Hinds County, Reeves said. As we reported, the Mississippi Community Education Center or MCEC was a sub grantee receiving TANF dollars that first flowed through DHS. A former top state official in Mississippi pleaded guilty Thursday to state and federal charges in connection to an embezzlement scheme that auditors say misused millions of welfare dollars,. Johnson says he never received anything other than glowing employee reviews. 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. "MDHS would like to thank the Office of the State Auditor investigators for their diligent work in seeing this investigation through," the post said. 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. 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. In a statement, the Department of Human Services said it had self-reported the information that initiated this investigation to the governors office in June 2019. White has called for a full forensic audit of MDHS. Webb attached a letter in her email to Davis, showing her organization had terminated their contract with WWISCAA. If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using. Amazon Has Uncanny Dupes of CB2's Popular Dining Chair for Hundreds Less. April 14 (UPI) -- A former worker at the Art Institute in Chicago has pleaded guilty to carrying out a $2 million embezzlement scheme. In 2020, officials said the loss exceeds any embezzlement scheme in the records of the Auditors office., You stuck your neck out for me: Brett Favre used fame and favors to pull welfare dollars (Mississippi Today), Phil Bryant had his sights on a payout as welfare funds flowed to Brett Favre (Mississippi Today), 8 revelations from Part 1 of The Backchannel investigation (Mississippi Today), This is a BETA experience. 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. Look for the "Republish This Story" button underneath each story. We are placing high priority on employee morale and engagement. Davis attorney argues that when White and Anderson have discussed the case with the media, they have focused solely on Davis actions and not the several other employees who approved various purchases or the agency policies that he argues sanctioned Davis conduct. Kelly Clarkson's Home Collection Is Up to 74% Off During Way Day Deals, The Best Wayfair Way Day Deals 2023 Starting at $30. Johnson returned to the office, but the next day when he came into work, he got the news. Connecting the dots: the MDHS embezzlement scandal A DHS spokesperson rejected the auditors narrative that the department did not disclose fraud reports to the auditors office. The former head of the Mississippi Department of Human Services has been arrested as part of a multi-million dollar embezzlement scheme that among other things paid for a former . People may have identified or suspected that something was amiss but, because of the atmosphere of fear and intimidation, they were afraid to say anything for fear of losing their jobs, noted Blanton. Check back for updates. Brett DiBiase pleads guilty for his part in DHS embezzlement scheme - WAPT Rumor was that some MDHS employees brought the matter to Bryants attention in June, and that Governor Bryant pointed White to the problem. Boston police officers acquitted in overtime fraud case The agency has still not adopted a comprehensive approach to responding to and reporting suspected fraud; additionally, the agency did not take all the needed steps to verify suspected fraud was investigated timely and misappropriated monies were returned, the audit stated. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Chinese electric vehicle brands expand to global, Met Gala: Rihanna, Jared Leto as Choupette, Kim K., Crisler still running for sheriff despite indictment, Met Gala 2023 live updates: Fashion highlights from, Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot dies at 84, MS Insight for April 30, 2023: Steffey and Thompson, Poll: Mississippians strongly favor Presleys ideas, Poll: Presley slips, Gov. 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. State Auditor Shad White said in a statement released Sunday, Tomorrow morning I am heading to FBI offices where my agents and I will brief them on the DHS scheme and make all the evidence we have gathered available. By the time these meetings occurred in April, July and August of 2020 former welfare department director John Davis, who was indicted last year for his critical role in the alleged scheme, had been retired for about a year. John Davis, then executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, at a hearing in Jackson, Miss., in 2016. retired in 2019 from the Department of Human Services.
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