We did reach out to Davis attorney Merrida Coxwell for comment. Records are kept for all cases from the last 20 years.The suspects were each released on their own recognizance Wednesday night, officials with the Hinds County Sheriff's Office said. Transparency: Is Mississippi spending too much or not enough money on childrens programs? Mike Hurst, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, complained on Thursday, Feb. 6, the day after the arrests, that his office had not been notified in advance by the state auditors office. Davis and Smith created invoices to pay DiBiase TANF money for teaching classes about drug abuse, but DiBiase was in a luxury rehabilitation facility for his own drug use in California at the time and did not perform the services, White said. Look for the "Republish This Story" button underneath each story. Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), https://i0.wp.com/nemiss.news/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/DHS-arrests.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1, https://nemiss.news/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/nemiss-full-logo-300x77.jpg, Connecting the dots: the MDHS embezzlement scandal, Officers investigate shots fired report near Blue Springs, Retiring fire chief Steve Coker reflects on years of service, Mississippi Community Education Center (MCEC). Wooten said it appears as if the officials are attempting to try Davis case in the media. Tate Reeves appointed the agencys current director, Bob Anderson, in March of 2020. Mr. White said the arrests stemmed from an eight-month investigation into the misappropriation of funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which the state welfare agency administers. Persons arrested by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Mugshots: Ex-welfare chief, wrestler, others charged in Mississippi fraud case. 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. READ MORE: Coverage of Mississippis sprawling welfare scandal. Editorial cartoons and photo essays are not included under the Creative Commons license and therefore do not have the "Republish This Story" button option. We certainly do not want to falsely accuse. Nonprofits made most of these purchases, which obscured the spending from public view. We will continue to follow this case and update you as new developments are made available. MDHS officials say former director John Davis created an environment of Executive Director John Davis was two-and-half-years into his time as head of the agency when they decided to add an Office of Inspector General within DHS. Webb attached a letter in her email to Davis, showing her organization had terminated their contract with WWISCAA. "Thats to create the transparency. You do not have the right to treat taxpayer money as your own or to lie to the taxpayers about what youre doing with that money. So,there was nothing illegal about those transfers, only how it was spent after that. Davis has pleaded not guilty. The total amount of money lost to the schemes has not yet been determined but the loss already exceeds any embezzlement scheme in the records of the auditors office, White said. As a nonprofit, your support is what powers our work. We have been told by officials with the Mississippi Department of Human Services that former Executive Director John Davis ran the department in an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. According to the auditor's office, there are at least six people involved, though the investigation is ongoing. Davis and Smith created invoices to pay DiBiase TANF money for teaching classes about drug abuse, but DiBiase was in a luxury rehabilitation facility for his own drug use in California at the time and did not perform the services, White said. Blanton also said that since the department was still under contract with the nonprofits in the last months of 2019, the beginning of fiscal year 2020, it could not simply cut off their funding while auditors were investigating allegations. 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. All six people charged are Mississippi residents, including the former W.W.E. No one has been charged in connection with these purchases. John Davis, former director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, was arrested within the largest alleged public embezzlement case in state history. We moved quickly and quietly in the auditors office to put a stop to the DHS scheme before any more money was taken, and now is the time to use every investigative resource available to uncover all the fraud that remains., The story about the MDHS scandal first broke late Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 5, 2020. John Davis was indicted along with several others in the largest embezzlement and fraud scheme in Mississippi history. Whites statement said John Davis, former head of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, had been arrested and charged in connection with a multi-million-dollar embezzlement scheme.. He then earned a Doctor of Laws degree from Harvard University. and I told him I was fine with it, you know that I was okay. Brett DiBiase pleads guilty in human services embezzlement scheme MDHS discusses largest embezzlement scheme in state history, upcoming Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Newis accused of using TANF funds for her personal use as well as for investing in private medical device companies. White and Anderson did not object to being included in the gag order, agreeing to refrain from discussing Davis criminal culpability. 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 auditors did not say what precipitated the investigation and did not give a specific dollar amount for the money that they say was embezzled, only that it was in the millions. - The former head of the Mississippi Department of Human Services has been arrested as part of a multimillion-dollar embezzlement scheme that among other things paid . Theres a lot of flexibility given for how states use TANF funds. We could not cease funding until we had that letter from the state auditor (in January 2020). Brett DiBiase pleads guilty for his part in DHS embezzlement scheme - WAPT Auditor Shad White said his office is still attempting to determine the total amount of money involved, but the "sprawling conspiracy" already exceeds any embezzlement scheme in recent years. MDHS discusses largest embezzlement scheme in state history - WLOX Brett DiBiase was a former professional wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment,who later worked at DHS as the deputy director of transformational change, according to his LinkedIn page. Fugees Rapper Pras Michel Found Guilty in Illegal Foreign Influence Scheme Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's embezzlement allegations targeting the flour scheme in Punjab have upset the interim government, as it termed the former . MDHS released a statement about the arrests. Former MDHS employee arrested for embezzlement - WJTV The February 2020 internal report claimed that an employee of 100 Black Men falsified timesheets to pay people who were not working at the nonprofit and that they were using federal money to buy personal items for staff and their family, according to the audit, which did not name the organization. To learn more about our cartoon syndication services. Skip to content. Connecting the dots: the MDHS embezzlement scandal According to the auditor's office, Davis and another DHS employee made fake invoices to pay Brett DiBiase a former pro wrestler who later became a DHS employee with money intended to helppoor families. (WLBT) - It was one week ago that the news broke of whats been called the largest public embezzlement case in state history. We confirmed that it was John Davis who was making those approvals on the money. As a nonprofit, your support is what powers our work. 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Ricky Jones, who has served as president of 100 Black Men of Jackson since March, said his organization just learned about the investigation last week when DHS notified them they would not be receiving a welfare grant this year. NEMiss.NEWS is a locally owned and operated online news magazine containing news, information, opinion, etc. Uncovering the scheme goes back further than you may realize. Davis is accused of creating fake invoices for DiBiase and for "creating a fraud scheme to take TANF funds to pay for personal investments in medical device companies.". A DHS spokesperson rejected the auditors narrative that the department did not disclose fraud reports to the auditors office. {"requests":{"event":"https:\/\/mississippitoday.org\/wp-content\/plugins\/newspack-popups\/includes\/..\/api\/campaigns\/index.php"},"triggers":{"trackPageview":{"on":"visible","request":"event","visibilitySpec":{"selector":"#c237","visiblePercentageMin":50,"totalTimeMin":250,"continuousTimeMin":100},"extraUrlParams":{"popup_id":"id_989879","cid":"CLIENT_ID(newspack-cid)"}}}} All persons arrested by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. After DHS employees reported their findings to the Governor, the State Auditor was notified and the investigation was launched. Purported text messages obtained by Mississippi Today show that Favre and Prevacus founder Jake Vanlandingham offered the governor and nonprofit director shares of Prevacus and offered to buy the head of MDHS a Ford F-150 Raptor truck in return for their help. The centers director had made a call to her warning her that we were there. The funds were instead taken by a group of influential people for their own benefit, and the scheme is massive. A $50,000 surety bond covers Jackson's employment as the Farmington City Clerk. Please reload the page and try again. JACKSON, Miss. State auditors said Ms. New and Mr. New concealed the embezzlement using fund transfers, fraudulent documents, at least one forged signature and deceptive accounting measures. Bryant denied introducing Favre or Vanlandingham to the nonprofit director, Nancy New. Hurst said, neither the FBI nor the United States Attorneys Office was contacted by the State Auditor or the Hinds County District Attorney about this investigation, although millions of federal dollars are alleged to have been stolen.. MDHS hires new law firm to recover misspent TANF money - WAPT To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS).