MDHS self-reported the. They then converted funds to their personal use and concealed the conversion through various fund transfers, fraudulent documents, at least one forged signature and deceptive accounting measures, investigators said. White launched the initial investigation into how Davis administered welfare. As a reminder, the scheme includes more than $4.15 million dollars in embezzled government money. All six people charged are Mississippi residents, including the former W.W.E. By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with Mississippi Today. We believe that an informed Mississippi is a better Mississippi. This investigation demonstrates the strengthened controls we have put in place to identify, investigate, and prosecute fraud, waste, and abuse at any level, by any individual, MDHS Executive Director Robert G. Bob Anderson said. Hurst said federal law enforcement was not aware of the MDHS investigation until they read about it in media reports. That ultimately led to (Wednesday's) arrests," DHS officials said in a statement. The indictments were filed under seal in Hinds County, Reeves said. DiBiase is the son of well-known former pro wrestler Ted DiBiase. He resigned in July 2019, at about the same time the auditor's office began its investigation. 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. He had the latitude to unilaterally disperse funds as he felt necessary or wanted to, Blanton confirmed. Davis also allegedly conspired to use welfare money, which his agency had granted to a nonprofit, to pay for DiBiases four-month long stint in a luxury rehab facility in California. We certainly do not want to falsely accuse. Rumor was that some MDHS employees brought the matter to Bryants attention in June, and that Governor Bryant pointed White to the problem. Editorial cartoons and photo essays are not included under the Creative Commons license and therefore do not have the "Republish This Story" button option. A top scholar, he won a Rhodes Scholarship and earned a Master of Science degree from Rhodes College in England. April 14 (UPI) -- A former worker at the Art Institute in Chicago has pleaded guilty to carrying out a $2 million embezzlement scheme. by Anna Wolfe, Mississippi Today June 22, 2021, This and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.. John Davis has been indicted in the largest embezzlement and fraud scheme in state history. 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. 2023, Hearst Television Inc. on behalf of WAPT-TV. Tate Reeves appointed Anderson, former director of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Attorney Generals office, to clean up the agency in the aftermath. The first announcement of the arrests was apparently made on the website of the (Brookhaven, MS) Daily Leader at 4:51 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5. Between 2016 and 2018, the nonprofit Mississippi Community Education Center doled out $5 millionallegedly at Favres requestto the University of Southern Mississippi, where Favre attended and where his daughter also attended and played volleyball, to pay for a new volleyball court, according to Mississippi Today; the nonprofit also paid him $1.1 million to promote a program called Families First. We work to provide free, accessible news for everyone to create a more informed Mississippi and hold public officials accountable. I dont care how politically connected a person may be, Mr. White said. 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. The audit released Tuesday also criticized the welfare department for continuing to fund two now-embattled nonprofits well into fiscal year 2020, as Mississippi Today first reported last July, even after learning that the auditor suspected they were responsible for the misspending of tens of millions of welfare dollars, the audit said. Emails obtained by Mississippi Today provide greater insight into the scope and type of foolery occurring within the federal grants. As we do with all of our partners that receive Families First funding through Mississippi Community Education Center, we evaluate their services and outcomes and review their expenses, New wrote. Earlier news reports indicated that the initial inquiry into the MDHS scandal may have been kicked off by Governor Bryant himself. The former director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services and several others have been arrested in what the state auditor said is the largest public embezzlement case in state history. The Auditors office has made it clear that the investigation is ongoing and more arrests are still possible. DHS spokesperson Danny Blanton rejected the auditors narrative that the department concealed fraud reports from the auditors office. She explained that she quit due to fear of losing her license and the requirements of the supervisor. 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. Their own outcome reports that they sent the state each month, which were meant to show how many people they served, contained nonsensical figures, Mississippi Today first reported. People may have identified or suspected that something was amiss but, because of the atmosphere of fear and intimidation, they were afraid to say anything for fear of losing their jobs, noted Blanton. He had the latitude to unilaterally disperse funds as he felt necessary or wanted to, Blanton confirmed. There really hadnt been the internal auditing capability, the program integrity ability before that we had at that point that was created, explained DHS Chief Communications Officer Danny Blanton. 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. Davis may face trial in September. Something went wrong. Wooten pushed back on this argument, repeatedly asking the attorney representing White and Anderson from the state attorney generals office how the gag order prevents White from doing his job, namely auditing and investigating government spending. Representatives for the nonprofits have not returned several calls and emails over the last year. As a nonprofit, your support is what powers our work. Nancy New and her son Zach New are scheduled to stand trial on welfare embezzlement charges in October. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS). Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). We hear from a former employee who is just one of many who were fired by Davis. NEMiss.NEWS was founded in 2014 and is a division of Shivimage, LLC, and began publishing in early 2015. At Davis direction, MCEC used TANF money received from DHS to pay for DiBiases opioid treatment at the Rise in Malibu facility, White said. There was also no answer at the main office of the Mississippi Community Education Center in Jackson. Hearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. As a reminder, the scheme includes more than $4.15 million dollars in embezzled government money. All persons arrested by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. And at that point we did, Blanton said. DHS made a post on Facebook Wednesday saying it "self-reportedthe information" that led to the investigation. 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. John Davis, several others face charges, arrested by state auditor's office. A $50,000 surety bond covers Jackson's employment as the Farmington City Clerk. The funds were instead taken by a group of influential people for their own benefit, and the scheme is massive. Special agents from the office of State Auditor Shad White have arrested John Davis, the former director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, and five others in a multimillion-dollar embezzlement scheme. Theres a lot of flexibility given for how states use TANF funds. Many employees have said they were fired for menial things. The funds that were illegally obtained in this case were intended to help the poorest among us, Mr. White said in a statement Wednesday. State agencies must improve when it comes to cybersecurity, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. You have to credit Mississippi Today. Nancy New is a long-time political ally and financial supporter of Mississippis new Governor, Tate Reeves. "Thats to create the transparency. 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. The organizations executive director, Nancy New, 67, and its assistant executive director, Zack New, 37, were arrested on Wednesday, along with the centers accountant, Anne McGrew, 63, state auditors said. Webb attached a letter in her email to Davis, showing her organization had terminated their contract with WWISCAA. Contests. 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. Jackson faces 30 years and over $50,000 in fines if convicted on all counts. She said its unfair that State Auditor Shad White, who initially investigated the scheme, and current Mississippi Department of Human Services Director Bob Anderson are free to make comments about Davis leadership while Davis is bound by a gag order and unable to respond. Great Jones Cookware Review: Is It Worth Buying? Mississippi's former welfare director, four colleagues and a former pro wrestler have been charged with carrying out a multimillion-dollar embezzlement scheme to siphon public money from needy. Persons arrested by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. MDHS is concerned about the authenticity of MCEC documents due to submission of numerous versions of the same request in a monitoring visit, Anderson wrote to the auditors office in March in response to the latest report. I said well what is the reason? Although the total amount of money embezzled has not been determined, Auditor White characterized it as the largest public embezzlement case in state 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 scheme came [] Five plead not guilty in MDHS embezzlement scheme - Vicksburg Daily News Sign up for our daily newsletter to get the latest updates on the Mississippi welfare scandal. 2023 www.clarionledger.com. 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. Before joining the staff at Mississippi Today in September of 2018, Anna worked for three years at Clarion Ledger, Mississippis statewide daily newspaper. The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. 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. We do not sell or share your information with anyone. The auditor's office said that the illicit money flowed through the Mississippi Community Education Center, a non-profit run by Nancy New and her son Zach New. HINDS COUNTY, Miss. Davis attorney argues that when White and Anderson have discussed the case with the media, they have focused solely on Davis actions and not the several other employees who approved various purchases or the agency policies that he argues sanctioned Davis conduct. Brett DiBiase pleads guilty in human services embezzlement scheme Keisha Rowe Mississippi Clarion Ledger 0:00 2:16 Brett DiBiase, a former deputy administrator for the Mississippi Department. We confirmed that it was John Davis who was making those approvals on the money. Davis and Smith created documents and arranged payment knowing DiBiase was not performing the work he was hired to perform, White said. The announcement came from the office of Mississippi State Auditor, Shadrach Tucker White. 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. Mississippi Community Education Center has also failed to turn over documents the agency needs to complete its forensic audit or conduct a full grant closeout the departments process for ensuring the nonprofit complied with grant requirements and spent the funds properly. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). Thats to be open with how funds are distributed and who theyre going to.. 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