‘It’s mind-boggling’: State auditor slams Brett Favre for thinking he was ‘entitled’ to $730,000 dollars from Mississippi’s welfare funds, demanding repayment

Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre is facing renewed calls to return a whole lot of 1000’s of dollars in Mississippi State welfare funds that were allegedly diverted to various side projects supported by the athlete years after his Hall of Fame profession ended.

State Auditor Shad White filed court papers Monday searching for nearly $730,000 from Favre as a part of a long-running legal fight over public funds intended to support disadvantaged communities in certainly one of the nation’s poorest states.

White filed the motion as a counterclaim to a defamation lawsuit filed by Favre in 2023, alleging that White and two sportscasters disparaged him in public discussions concerning the welfare scandal involving the nonprofit Mississippi Community Education Center.

In October, a federal judge dismissed Favre’s defamation lawsuit against NFL analyst Shannon Sharpe, while Favre dropped his lawsuit against color commentator Pat McAfee after the host apologized for public statements wherein he accused Favre of “robbing poor people in Mississippi.” .

Favre, who retired from the league in 2010 and still lives within the state, allegedly received $1.1 million in inappropriate speaking fees from a nonprofit organization that obtained approval from the Mississippi Department of Human Services to use welfare funds.

Funds from the state’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program were intended to help low-income residents, but as a substitute went to help construct a brand new volleyball court on the University of Southern Mississippi, Favre’s alma mater.

From there, Favre was paid a lucrative fee to give a fundraising speech to support a brand new facility where his daughter joined the volleyball team in 2017, but he never showed up.

Under pressure, the Packers legend repaid the state $500,000 in May 2020 and an extra $600,000 in October 2021, but court records show Favre was still on the hook for repaying the remaining interest balance of $729,790.

“Favre had no right to possess or control the $1.1 million,” White’s legal team said in a court filing.

“It is astonishing that Mr. Favre could imagine that he was entitled to the equivalent of an interest-free loan of $1.1 million of taxpayer money, especially money intended to benefit the poor,” White said in an announcement: According to Press Association.

Prosecutors allege that tens of millions of dollars in federal welfare funds were misappropriated for projects endorsed by distinguished figures between 2016 and 2019.

A 2022 lawsuit filed by the Department of Human Services alleged that tens of millions of dollars in TANF funds were misappropriated, including $5 million for a volleyball court and $1.7 million for concussion medication, each supported by Brett Favre.

Favre continues to deny any wrongdoing, and the previous point guard has never faced any criminal charges within the case.