Brett Favre finally addressed a welfare fraud scandal in Mississippi that has had his name attached to it since the story of funneling millions from the state first broke.
Officials discovered that more than $70 million in welfare funds were funneled through charities and other means and inappropriately spent, including millions that went to the university Favre’s daughter attended. To make matters worse, messages from Favre about the funds were released, and Favre was also reportedly paid for speaking engagements that never actually happened.
The NFL Hall of Fame quarterback released a statement to Fox News and he feels he has done nothing wrong.
“I have been unjustly smeared in the media,” Favre said in a statement provided exclusively to Fox News Digital. “I have done nothing wrong, and it is past time to set the record straight.
“No one ever told me, and I did not know, that funds designated for welfare recipients were going to the University or me. I tried to help my alma mater USM, a public Mississippi state university, raise funds for a wellness center. My goal was and always will be to improve the athletic facilities at my university.
“State agencies provided the funds to Nancy New’s charity, the Mississippi Community Education Center, which then gave the funds to the University, all with the full knowledge and approval of other State agencies, including the State-wide Institute for Higher Learning, the Governor’s office and the Attorney General’s office.
“I was told that the legal work to ensure that these funds could be accepted by the university was done by State attorneys and State employees.”
The Green Bay Packers legend has not been charged in the case, which has already resulted in several guilty pleas. He did receive $1.1 million in welfare money for no-show speaking gigs. He has since repaid that amount, but has thus far refused to pay $228,000 interest being charged to him by the state.
As a result, Favre is among 38 individuals or organizations being sued by the state to recoup $24 million if the $77 million in federal welfare money, according to Mississippi Today.
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‘After I found out the money I was paid for fundraising radio spots came from federal welfare funds, I returned all of it,’ Favre’s statement to Fox News continued.
State auditor Shad White, who first discovered the fraud, also provided a statement to Fox News Digital, saying there may be no concrete proof Favre knew where the funds came from, but there is no denying they are not being used as intended.
“The volleyball court needed to be used to benefit the needy in Hattiesburg, and fast-forward to today, what we know now is that the volleyball court has not been used to benefit the needy,” White said. “So, this is an unallowable use of TANF funds for a few different reasons. And for those reasons, it doesn’t matter that the attorney signed off on this.”
