Brett Favre did not get the outcome he was hoping for this week.
The Mississippi Supreme Court has decided Brett Favre will not be removed as a defendant in a civil lawsuit over misspent welfare money in what has become the largest corruption case in state history. The Hall of Fame quarterback has been linked to the welfare scandal involving the misappropriation of roughly $77 million that was supposed to be used to help families in need.
While Favre has not been criminally charged, he is one of 47 defendants in the current lawsuit.
The Mississippi Department of Human Services originally filed a lawsuit in 2022 and Favre tried to get it dismissed then as well. The state revised its complaint against him in December, and he once again filed papers for dismissal in February.
A panel of three justices denied Favre’s appeal in a brief ruling on Wednesday.
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The underlying lawsuit alleges that money spent from the state’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program was improperly utilized. Within the allegations, it is alleged that money was spent on projects Favre supported.
Some of that money includes $5 million for a volleyball arena at Southern Miss, which is the same college Favre attended and where Favre’s daughter played the sport. There was also misuse of $1.7 million toward the development of a concussion treatment drug.
It has also been alleged that Favre sought additional money for a new football practice facility at Southern Miss, as part of an attempt to boost recruiting, and text messages released show he tried to duplicate the funding he received for the university’s volleyball court, applying it this time to the football program.
A former department director and other people have pleaded guilty to their part in the misspending.
In a statement to Fox News released last fall, Favre maintained his innocence:
“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.”
Favre and his attorneys will now have to litigate this matter to conclusion.
