The State Auditor's office says Davis allowed 98 million dollars meant for the needy to flow into nonprofits where the money was spent to hire lobbyists, on contracts for family members, to purchase vehicles, even repaying a loan. One of the nonprofits, Mississippi Community Education Center, shuttered after law enforcement arrested its owner Nancy New, while officials at the other nonprofit, Family Resource Center of North Mississippi, have not faced criminal charges. Auditor:State agencies must improve when it comes to cybersecurity. White and Anderson did not object to being included in the gag order, agreeing to refrain from discussing Davis criminal culpability. Feazell later turned herself into MDHS and Hinds County officials on Monday, February 28, 2022. DHS spokesperson Danny Blanton rejected the auditors narrative that the department concealed fraud reports from the auditors office. Here's an attempt to connect the players and what little is known thus far of the plot in this shameful drama: Nancy New and her son Zach New are scheduled to stand trial on welfare embezzlement charges in October. The state auditors office said it would not be making any additional comments. Anne McGrew is the accountant for the Mississippi Community Education Center. The defendants used a variety of business entities and schemes to defraud the taxpayers, investigators said. Anna Wolfe, a native of Tacoma, Wa., is an investigative reporter writing about poverty and economic justice. 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. So,there was nothing illegal about those transfers, only how it was spent after that. We center readers in everything we do, informingand engagingMississippians through reporting, podcasts, events and online communities. And at that point we did, Blanton said. Uncovering the scheme goes back further than you may realize. We prefer Author Name, Mississippi Today in the byline. We work to provide free, accessible news for everyone to create a more informed Mississippi and hold public officials accountable. In doing so, we have identified concerns with Victory Sports expense reports and services. That ultimately led to (Wednesday's) arrests," DHS officials said in a statement. All of this is being put in place to make sure the sins of the past never recur in the future, added Blanton. The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. Brookhaven is in Lincoln County in the southwest quadrant of Mississippi. Rumor was that some MDHS employees brought the matter to Bryants attention in June, and that Governor Bryant pointed White to the problem. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Connecting the dots: the MDHS embezzlement scandal The cast of characters, villains and heroes, in the Mississippi Department of Human Resources (MDHS) case seems to grow by the hour. We received sign in sheets and some activities that had been conducted., To make sure before actually calling their hand on this, Webb continued, I contacted another licensed social worker with a masters degree who had been employed by them under our Families First grant. 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. Hurst said federal law enforcement was not aware of the MDHS investigation until they read about it in media reports. 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. MDHS officials say former director John Davis created an environment of fear and intimidation, John Davis is indicted in an embezzlement scheme involving millions of dollars, Beloved Mississippi school bus driver killed during crash with 18-wheeler, Eleven players with Mississippi ties selected in 2023 NFL Draft, Truck possibly connected to Hinds County jail escape found in Newton County, Paraplegic fisherman speaks to Beulah Baptist Church, Belhaven football puts a smile on the face of little girl, City of Byram awarded thousands of state dollars for infrastructure projects, 58-year-old man shoots brother after argument over a dog in Hazlehurst, Request a First Alert Weather School Visit, Advertising Non-Discrimination Certification. White has called for a full forensic audit of MDHS. Jones said he had no knowledge of any alleged fraud and that the nonprofit had cooperated with audits from the department as well as the auditors office. Thats to be open with how funds are distributed and who theyre going to.. This is a developing story. They explained to her that there had been no activities and no clients and they were told to come up with some regardless. Nine of them have pleaded guilty to embezzlement charges . After DHS employees reported their findings to the Governor, the State Auditor was notified and the investigation was launched. All of this is being put in place to make sure the sins of the past never recur in the future, added Blanton. Founded in 2016 as the states first nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom, Mississippi Todays roots in Capitol coverage have grown to encompass a myriad of beats beyond politics and policy, including education, public health, justice, environment, equity, and, yes, sports. The News also directed millions in public money to their private businesses, used the money personally, and concealed the transactions, according to the auditors. Copyright 2020 WLBT. You may opt-out by. At Davis direction, MCEC used TANF money received from DHS to pay for DiBiases opioid treatment at the Rise in Malibu facility, White said. Federal authorities and internal investigators at Mississippi Department of Human Services eventually began investigating the subgrantee, 100 Black Men of Jackson, an agency spokesperson told Mississippi Today on Tuesday. According to the auditor's office, there are at least six people involved, though the investigation is ongoing. Others doing this kind of thing are on notice: This will not be tolerated now., Former Mississippi Welfare Director Charged With Embezzling Millions, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/us/john-davis-mdhs-brett-dibiase.html. Nancy New and her son, Zach New, stand accused of using the News nonprofit, MCEC, to pay for DiBiases drug treatment using TANF funds, White said. Read more. There was also no answer at the main office of the Mississippi Community Education Center in Jackson. 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. Anna Wolfe, a native of Tacoma, Wa., is an investigative reporter writing about poverty and economic justice. He resigned in July 2019, at about the same time the auditor's office began its investigation. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. All rights reserved. Special agents from the office of State Auditor Shad White have arrested John Davis, who retired after 28 years with DHS on July 31, 2019. Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization. State auditors said Mr. Davis, of Brookhaven, Miss., conspired with the administrators at a nonprofit, the Mississippi Community Education Center, and the organizations accountant to defraud taxpayers and create phony invoices. You cant edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. Create a recurring donation today to join our mission. 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. Officials charged Davis almost two years ago with conspiracy, embezzlement or fraud by a public official and making false statements to defraud the government. 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,. It was not immediately clear Wednesday night if Mr. Davis or the other five charged had lawyers, and no one answered the phone at the homes of Mr. Davis, Ms. New, Mr. New and Mr. Smith. Great Jones Cookware Review: Is It Worth Buying? Special agents from the office of State Auditor Shad White have arrested John Davis, who retired after 28 years with DHS on July 31 . Several people were arrested and charged on Feb. 5, 2020. Earlier news reports indicated that the initial inquiry into the MDHS scandal may have been kicked off by Governor Bryant himself. Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization. Davis was appointed executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Resources by then-Governor Phil Bryant in January, 2016. 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. The defendants used a variety of business entities and schemes to defraud the taxpayers, investigators said. Here is what we know about them: John Davis was appointed director of DHS by former Gov. Look for the "Republish This Story" button underneath each story. Shortly after last years arrests in the largest reported public embezzlement scheme in state history, a whistleblower disclosed several previously unreported fraud allegations to the welfare department regarding one of its federal grant recipients. White launched the initial investigation into how Davis administered welfare. John Davis worked atDHS for nearly three decades, eventually rising to director in 2016. New described issues with their partner, Victory Sports Foundation owned by former football player Paul Lacoste, who was paid to conduct a boot camp-style fitness program, often attended by professionals and lawmakers. 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. We hear from a former employee who is just one of many who were fired by Davis. All rights reserved. The indictment alleges his agency entered a $48,000 contract with ex-wrestler Brett DiBiase to conduct opioid addiction education courses, and paid him knowing he wasnt conducting the work because he was in rehab. The matter was referred to the Hinds County District Attorney Office for criminal prosecution after terminating her employment. The welfare agency possessed no records showing the outcomes of those programs, an agency spokesperson 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. (WLBT) - It was one week ago that the news broke of whats been called the largest public embezzlement case in state history. State agencies must improve when it comes to cybersecurity, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. A major part of Reevess education agenda has been to funnel state tax money to New Summit and other private schools in the state, including another one owned by New and son. 0:27. Together, the nonprofits paid more than $3 million to retired WWE wrestler Ted DiBiase Jr. for little more than inspirational speaking and promotion and paid a six-figure salary to retired football player Marcus Dupree, plus covered the $9,500-a-month mortgage on his horse ranch. 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. With your help, we've gotten a lot done but we're not finished yet! We want to make our employees comfortable and proud to be a part of DHS.. She received the National Press Foundations 2020 Poverty and Inequality Award. Paul Lacoste did not return calls Tuesday morning.
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