‘Million Dollar Man’ son admits defrauding Mississippi welfare agency, returns state evidence

During his televised wrestling days, famous Mississippi “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase adopted the phrase, “Every man has his price.”

For her son, that price was $ 48,000.

On Thursday, Brett DiBiase, also a retired wrestler, admitted his role in the Mississippi social agency scam. It is the latest development in a larger embezzlement program that the state auditor’s office calls the largest in state history. DiBiase, a native of Clinton, Mississippi, is now a state witness in this case.

The $ 48,000 he fraudulently obtained is just 1% of the $ 4.15 million prosecutors allege officials of agencies and nonprofits stole and even a smaller fraction of the $ 94 million. in a potential welfare agency that the auditor has found.

DiBiase, one of six defendants arrested in February, pleaded guilty to making fraudulent statements before Judge Tomie Green of the Hinds County Circuit Court. The crime carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $ 10,000.

In return for DiBiase’s plea and agreement to cooperate with the remaining investigation, the district attorney’s office agreed to drop a separate conspiracy charge against the 32-year-old and recommended that the judge delay the sentencing. .

“He’s a local guy,” Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens told Mississippi Today. “You cannot present this case without some factual witnesses. We think he is credible.

Owens said it was possible that DiBiase might not ultimately be sentenced to prison.

The district attorney also raised the possibility of additional guilty pleas among the other five defendants. But he said he expected the cases of the main defendants – namely former director of human services John Davis and non-profit owner Nancy New – to be tried in 2021.

Before DiBiase could complete the ‘addiction training’ the Mississippi Department of Social Services prepaid for him in 2018 to complete, the former wrestler said he ended up in treatment. detoxification.

DiBiase was unable to fulfill his contract during his four-month stay at the luxury treatment facility in Malibu, Calif., But he said he kept the money.

The state alleged that DiBiase, Davis and state agency employee Latimer Smith “covered up with something” that DiBiase did not actually do the work he was being paid for.

Davis and Smith have pleaded not guilty to the charges related to their alleged involvement in the scheme. Nancy New, founder of the Mississippi Community Education Center, her son Zach New, and accountant for the nonprofit organization Ann McGrew also pleaded not guilty to indictments that they conspired to convert $ 2 million into News Personal Business Human Service Fund.

The News is accused of funneling an additional $ 2.15 million through personal investments in a biomedical start-up called Prevacus and its subsidiary PreSolMD.

Indictments and a state audit also allege that the Mississippi Community Education Center, which ultimately hired DiBiase and was primarily funded by a federal grant called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, used grants from the State to pay for the retired wrestler’s drug treatment to the tune of $ 160,000. .

Officials did not charge DiBiase with a crime related to this purchase because, Owens said, they don’t believe he was not involved in processing the payment. Instead, the indictment against the former director of social services alleged that Davis and Nancy New had conspired to pay for the stay in rehab.

On Thursday, DiBiase presented a check for $ 5,000 in court – the first installment of its restitution and reimbursement of the $ 48,000.

READ MORE: Why did a social organization pay $ 5 million to build a volleyball stadium?

Of the many questionable welfare recipients, only one person voluntarily returned the money they received. Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre was awarded $ 1.1 million from the new nonprofit to do promotional work that the auditor’s office said it found no evidence that ‘he had actually performed. He publicly promised to return the funds and has since returned $ 500,000 to the auditor’s office, where it is in a deposit account.

Favre is also a notable Mississippi sponsor of the company, Prevacus, where the News is said to have funneled public funds.

All of the alleged frauds took place at the Mississippi Department of Human Services, an agency that reports to the governor’s office, under the administrations of Davis and former Governor Phil Bryant. Bryant appointed Davis to the post of agency manager in 2016.

New, accused of most of the theft, told reporters in November that someone ordered her to make payments to the founder of Prevacus, but she didn’t want to say who.

“We certainly realize that some harm has happened that we can’t show, but we know they don’t pass the odor test,” Owens said. “And our hope is that as more and more people come forward, what they are… we can get that missing piece.”