The auditor made the remark to CNN after court documents filed Monday, Sept. 12, revealed dozens of text messages showing how retired NFL star Brett Favre, former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant and nonprofit leader Nancy New they coordinated the procurement of welfare funds for the financing. an $8 million volleyball court; New led the nonprofit Mississippi Community Education Center when she channeled $5 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to The University of Southern Mississippi Athletic Foundation, on whose board she served, to fund the stadium on the Hattiesburg campus. Her nonprofit also gave Favre $1.1 million for motivational speeches he never gave. She and her son, Zach New, have pleaded guilty to multiple state charges, including bribery and wire fraud as part of a plea deal. The newly leaked text messages, made public in a separate civil lawsuit this week, shed light on how $6.1 million meant for the state’s poorest families ended up going to Favre and a pet project at his alma mater of. The civil suit is part of Mississippi State’s efforts to recover tens of millions in lost funds from dozens of players, including Favre, New and MCEC, its nonprofit.
A “Too Big Deal”
In a filing that seeks to compel former Gov. Bryant to hand over information about the volleyball stadium program released Monday, Sept. 12, MCEC noted that the state’s lawsuit alleges the agency “paid Favre $1,100,000 simply for the ‘purpose of enrichment.’ ». “The evidence, however, shows that MCEC paid Favre $1,100,000 expressly to provide Favre with additional funds to be used for the construction of the Volleyball Facility,” the New-founded nonprofit group’s filing states. Nonprofit founder Nancy New pleaded guilty in April 2022 to charges related to the largest welfare scandal in Mississippi history. Court filings say he helped direct $5 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds to build a volleyball court and $1.1 million to retired NFL star Brett Favre. AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File “On July 24, 2017, a meeting was held at USM. In attendance were Favre, (then Mississippi Department of Human Services Director) John Davis, Teddy DiBiase, Nancy New, USM Athletic Staff and other MDHS and MCEC officials,” the MCEC filing continues, showing Exhibit 2, a photo of team at The Rock, USM’s football stadium. “Supposedly this was the first time Favre asked MDHS for funding for the volleyball facility. However, MDHS, on the ground, committed $4 million in TANF funds to the construction of the Volleyball Facility.” The deposition directs readers to Exhibit 3, showing a text message Favre sent to New at 5:10 p.m. later that day: “Nancy thanks again!!! John mentioned 4 million and I’m not sure if I heard him right. Very big deal and I can’t thank you enough. 😊” But Favre “knew that a state-of-the-art volleyball facility was likely to cost more,” the MCEC filing says. “To make matters worse, USM apparently had a policy that any construction project on campus had to be fully funded and deposited into USM’s account before construction could begin. Therefore, Favre sought to secure additional funds that he knew would be needed to break ground.” The Sept. 12 court filing showed the retired NFL star sent New another message several days later on July 29, 2017. “I also want to help you out and was thinking that a (Public Service Announcement) is an option that could be quick and easy to put together,” Favre wrote. Soon after, he wrote back saying he “could record some radio spots here first” and “See how it’s received and any compensation could go to USM.” “4 million dollars😅😅😅. Just kidding,” New wrote. “The first phase could be $500,000 and after September we can renew. This is a good approach. What do you think?” “I was just thinking this is the way to do it!!” Favre responded, the Sept. 12 court filing shows. New said she will ask her son, Zach New, to make a deal. About 33 minutes later, however, Favre wrote back. “My biggest concern is the time commitment so I can manage to get well,” the retired NFL star wrote. Nancy New assured him it would be fine, the texts show. “Please don’t worry about your time commitment,” she replied. “We can only imagine how many directions they pull you. Just a few things here and there, spread out, will be a lot.” “Okay great,” Favre said. Brett Favre, left, said he had concerns about time commitments in a July 29, 2017 text message conversation with Nancy New, right, according to screenshots included in a Sept. 12, 2022, court filing. Image: MCEC On Aug. 2, 2017, the NFL star from Hattiesburg, Miss., sent a message to the New saying he had spoken with John Davis, the head of MDHS at the time, who now faces multiple charges in the TANF scandal. “Looks like the facility is going to be bigger than we thought, which is always the case,” Favre wrote. Later that month, Favre’s daughter, Breleigh Favre, would begin her freshman year at the University of Southern Mississippi and her first season on the USM volleyball team. On August 21, 2017, Hattiesburg’s WDAM reported that she would be “the only Mississippi native on this year’s team.” Breleigh Favre had just graduated from Oak Grove High School just outside of Hattiesburg months earlier. While she was a student there, in 2015, Brett Favre and his wife, Deanna Favre, successfully pushed for and helped build a new women’s volleyball facility at the high school — one of the first of its kind in Mississippi.
“Is there anyway the media can find out?”
After prosecutors announced their first indictments in the TANF fraud probe in February 2020 following a seven-month investigation, Brett Favre denied knowing the source of the $1.1 million payment he had received. But texts included in MCEC’s filing show it had concerns about disclosing the source of the funding. “If you were to pay me, there is anyway [sic] Can the media find out where it came from and how much?’ Favre wrote to Nancy New on Aug. 3, 2017, the Sept. 12 court filing shows. “No, that information was never made public,” the nonprofit responded. “I understand that you feel uncomfortable about this. Let’s see what happens on Monday by talking to some of the folks at Southern. Maybe it clicks with them. Let’s hope.” Nancy New, right, told Favre, left, that her organization would not release the source of any payments to him in this Aug. 3, 2017, text message, according to screenshots included in a Sept. 12, 2022, court filing. Image: MCEC The next day, New texted Favre with good news. “Wow, I just got off the phone with Phil Bryant! He is with us! We’re going to do this!” he wrote, according to the Sept. 12 filing. “Awesome, I had to hear that for sure,” the former NFL quarterback replied. New delivered more good news in the coming days, writing on August 10, 2017, that she had heard the university was “moving forward to do this.” Federal TANF block grants allow states wide discretion in their spending, state law prohibits welfare funds from being used for “brick and mortar” construction projects. However, the News, MCEC and Davis came up with a solution. In his April 22, 2022 plea agreement, Zach New explained that he “acted” with his mother “and others, at their direction, to disguise the USM construction project as a “lease” as a means of circumventing the strict limited-purpose grant. prohibition of “brick and mortar” construction in violation of Code Miss. Ann. 97-7-10.” The disguised sublease scheme, now for $5 million in TANF funds, won the approval of the Mississippi Attorney General, USM and the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Education, which oversees the state’s colleges and universities. IHL board minutes indicate the sublease between MCEC and the Athletic Foundation used funding obtained “through a block grant from the Mississippi Department of Human Services.” The minutes state that MCEC is “designed to provide schools, communities and families with educational services and training programs” and “will use the subject facilities to support programming efforts for South Mississippi.” “It’s a good one,” Nancy New wrote to Favre in an Oct. 19, 2017, text that appears in the Sept. 12 deposition. “Everything is approved by IHL!” But Favre had new reasons to worry about the cost of the volleyball court. “Finally, thank you Nancy. I hope that’s enough now,” he wrote. The former football star claimed that USM Athletic Director Jon Gilbert had told him that $500,000 of the new funds would need to go toward renovating the campus’s old Reed Green Coliseum and another $500,000 into a maintenance fund. Neos assured Favre “we’ll get the rest” and mentioned a “fundraiser” as an option. “Also, in the next few days I could send you a draft proposal to do some PSAs, etc. for Families First,” she wrote, referring to an initiative MCEC and another nonprofit, the Tupelo-based Family Resource Center, are spearheading together. (The FRC would also later become embroiled in the fallout from the welfare scandal, as Caleb Bedillion of the Daily Journal reported in May 2020. “Good,” Favre replied. “On July 24, 2017, a meeting was held at USM. In attendance were Favre, (then Mississippi Department of Human Services Director) John Davis, Teddy DiBiase, Nancy New, USM Athletic Staff and other MDHS…
