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. 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. Nancy New and her son are also accused of transferring millions in TANF funds to their private businesses, White said. Brett DiBiase pleads guilty for his part in DHS embezzlement scheme - WAPT 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. Davis has pleaded not guilty. John Davis has been indicted in the largest embezzlement and fraud scheme in state history. 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. Latimer Smith is a former employee of DHS. Phil Bryant's office in June 2019. (WLBT) Theyve also started bringing in subgrantees for training on whats expected and how they can best meet federal guidelines. In welfare scandal, judge weighs public interest versus the right to a All rights reserved. Brett Favre Scandal: Alleged $8 Million Welfare Scam, Explained - Forbes The suspects were each released on their own recognizance Wednesday night, officials with the Hinds County Sheriff's Office said. A little less than four months ago October 2019 it was reported that Nancy Drew and her son Zach had donated $5,000 to the Reeves campaign on behalf of their privately owned New Summit School in Jackson. We confirmed that it was John Davis who was making those approvals on the money. But the criminal charges only scratch the surface: Under Davis leadership, independent auditors have found $70 million in improper purchases with federal public assistance dollars. 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 are verifying those as well to determine the validity of such. MDHS discusses largest embezzlement scheme in state history, upcoming policy changes, 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 prefer Author Name, Mississippi Today in the byline. The agency expects to soon file civil charges against Davis and others who received the funds. MDHS Embezzlement Part 1: Charges and evidence Records are kept for all cases from the last 20 years.The suspects were each released on their own recognizance Wednesday night, officials with the Hinds County Sheriff's Office said. A top scholar, he won a Rhodes Scholarship and earned a Master of Science degree from Rhodes College in England. A combination of both, the attorney answered. JACKSON, Miss. Nancy New is a long-time political ally and financial supporter of Mississippis new Governor, Tate Reeves. MDHS Embezzlement Part 1: Charges and evidence What is the relationship between Davis and the News? All rights reserved. Davis may face trial in September. All of this is being put in place to make sure the sins of the past never recur in the future, added Blanton. Bryant denied introducing Favre or Vanlandingham to the nonprofit director, Nancy New. Editorial cartoons and photo essays are not included under the Creative Commons license and therefore do not have the "Republish This Story" button option. New sent a similar email to former Department of Human Services Director Christopher Freeze, who took over for Davis a few months after Davis retired in 2019. MDHS discusses largest embezzlement scheme in state history - WLOX We work to find them. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS). According to the auditor's office, the classes never took place. (WLBT) - 3 On Your Side is learning more about how the former head of the Mississippi Department of Human Services ran the agency and treated employees. Sign up for our daily newsletter to get the latest updates on the Mississippi welfare scandal. Former MDHS Director, John Davis, is from Brookhaven, Lincoln County, and worked for MDHS in that county before his rise to the top of the state MDHS organization. The money was stolen from TANF funds, federal money entrusted to the state for needs of the poor. The welfare agencys documentation, or lack thereof, shows Mississippi Community Education Center and Family Resource Center of North Mississippi did not, as New stated, evaluate the services and outcomes of its grantees. The Hinds County District Attorney secured an indictment on December 14, 2021. a proud member of the MDHS self-reported the. Hurst said federal law enforcement was not aware of the MDHS investigation until they read about it in media reports. by Anna Wolfe, Mississippi Today December 28, 2021, This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
. There was a reception area, a 10 x 10 room with two tables and 6 chairs and another office. On a separate visit, she said, they found no employee present. Many employees have said they were fired for menial things. Look for the "Republish This Story" button underneath each story. As a nonprofit, your support is what powers our work. The funds mostly came from a federal welfare grant program administered by the Mississippi Department of Human Services, and both the head of the nonprofit and the former head of the MDHS have been charged with and pleaded not guilty to embezzlement and fraud for their roles in the scheme. Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization. Help keep the momentum going by rejoining our member community today. A phone number for Ms. McGrew was busy. Any amount helps us keep producing quality journalism for Mississippi. The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. There was also no answer at the main office of the Mississippi Community Education Center in Jackson. Phil Bryant in January 2016. And they did start an internal audit at the beginning of 2019. Nancy New was the owner and director of the Mississippi Community Education Center and New Learning, Inc. She also founded New Summit, a private school in Jackson. MDHS released a statement about the arrests. To learn more about our cartoon syndication services. Blanton also said that since the department was still under contract with the nonprofits in the last months of 2019, the beginning of fiscal year 2020, it could not simply cut off their funding while auditors were investigating allegations. You and Nancy stuck your neck out for me with jake and Prevacus I know and thats going to turn out very good I believe.. We will continue to follow this case and update you as new developments are made available. With your help, we've gotten a lot done but we're not finished yet! Mississippi's Ex-Welfare Director, 5 Others Arrested Over - NPR The audit released less than a year later said that according to its budget, Victory Sports used the nearly $1.4 million welfare subgrant to pay for staff and coaches, a program design fee, equipment, an onsite nurse, marketing and other administration costs, and to purchase a $20,000 trailer and a $70,000 vehicle. 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. Johnson said, "Mr. Davis approached me and asked me did I not, did I not want to be there. Indictments were not found on the electronic courts site for Hinds County. Among other things, it is charged that state money was diverted to pay for drug rehabilitation treatment for former wrestler DiBiase at an exclusive drug rehab clinic in Malibu, California. MDHS sits down to discuss the embezzlement case for the first time since the news broke a week ago. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Create a recurring donation today to join our mission. Wooten also said that its impossible to separate the discussion of Davis criminal culpability, as it relates to the narrow criminal charges against him, from the overall alleged scheme that occurred under his watch. 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. 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. 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. What it looks like is that one side of the story is being put out there, Wooten said. Matter of fact I had gotten a promotion to another department, Johnson said. NEMiss.NEWS was founded in 2014 and is a division of Shivimage, LLC, and began publishing in early 2015. He resigned in July 2019, at about the same time the auditor's office began its investigation. Gov. Whites statement said John Davis, former head of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, had been arrested and charged in connection with a multi-million-dollar embezzlement scheme.. MDHS paid Mississippi Community Education Center $19,404 two days before the state auditor's office arrested the News and former Human Services Executive Director John Davis as part of the. HINDS COUNTY, Miss. Newly unearthed text messages show Favre at the center of a scandal dating back to 2020, when a political appointee of the governor and nonprofit head, among others, were arrested for misusing federal welfare funds, some of which benefitted Favre personally as well as causes with which he was involved. New is the executive director of Oxford University School. 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. At Davis direction, MCEC used TANF money received from DHS to pay for DiBiases opioid treatment at the Rise in Malibu facility, White said. When it comes to finding the misspending detailed in the indictments, this was the atmosphere at the agency at the time. 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. 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). MDHS Embezzlement Part 1: Charges and evidence Editor's Note: This is Part 1 of a three part series NEMISS.NEWS will publish regarding the matter the state auditor has called the biggest embezzlement of public funds in Mississippi history. Connecting the dots: the MDHS embezzlement scandal The former director of Mississippis welfare agency was arrested on charges that he took part in a scheme to embezzle millions of dollars for personal use and to pay for a former professional wrestler to go to a luxury drug rehabilitation center, the state auditor announced on Wednesday. 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. Thats to be open with how funds are distributed and who theyre going to.. (WLBT) - It was one week ago that the news broke of whats been called the largest public embezzlement case in state history. The indictments, which were returned by a Hinds County grand jury, include a range of violations involving fraud and embezzlement, White said in a news release. 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. Since then, the subgrantee process has changed and the state plan for TANF reflects those changes. Former DHS director, wrestler arrested in 'largest public embezzlement case in state history'. 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. As a nonprofit, your support is what powers our work. 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. A judge in the ongoing welfare embezzlement case is balancing the publics interest in learning how officials misspent tens of millions of federal dollars with a defendants right to a fair trial. Former MDHS employee arrested for embezzlement - WJTV JACKSON, Miss. Copyright 2020 WLBT. With your help, we've gotten a lot done but we're not finished yet! Anne McGrew is the accountant for the Mississippi Community Education Center. Uncovering the scheme goes back further than you may realize. Agents also arrested DHS employee Latimer Smith; Dr. Nancy New, owner and director of the Mississippi Community Education Center and New Learning; Zach New, assistant executive director of MCEC; Anne McGrew, accountant for MCEC; and former pro wrestler Brett DiBiase in connection with the multimillion-dollar embezzlement scheme.Tap here for mugshots. White has called for a full forensic audit of MDHS. Here's an attempt to connect the players and what little is known thus far of the plot in this shameful drama: Mississippi welfare scheme: Former state official pleads guilty in For example, the people in charge of spending welfare dollars paid $5 million to help University of Southern Mississippi build a new volleyball stadium, paid retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre $1.1 million for a promotional gig, bought a horse ranch for former high school running back Marcus Dupree, paid over $3 million to Brett DiBiases brother Ted DiBiase Jr., also a retired WWE wrestler, to conduct professional development, hired officials friends and family members and paid them six-figure salaries, and paid rents on properties they owned that sat empty. Davis and Smith are accused of fraudulently manufacturing documents to benefit DiBiase using TANF money, White said. That ultimately led to (Wednesday's) arrests," DHS officials said in a statement. Before they exited their car, a woman was unlocking the door and waving them in. All rights reserved. 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. They explained to her that there had been no activities and no clients and they were told to come up with some regardless. Please refresh the page and/or try again. The Mississippi Department of Human Services has hired a new law firm to recover money that was misspent as part of the state's welfare fraud case. 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Davis is accused of creating fake invoices for DiBiase and for "creating a fraud scheme to take TANF funds to pay for personal investments in medical device companies.". White launched the initial investigation into how Davis administered welfare. She explained that she quit due to fear of losing her license and the requirements of the supervisor. She received the National Press Foundations 2020 Poverty and Inequality Award. 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. The agency has still not adopted a comprehensive approach to responding to and reporting suspected fraud; additionally, the agency did not take all the needed steps to verify suspected fraud was investigated timely and misappropriated monies were returned, the audit stated. 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. As a reminder, the scheme includes more than $4.15 million dollars in embezzled government money. We are placing high priority on employee morale and engagement. 2016 Hall of Fame enshrinee, quarterback Brett Favre is greeted by the crowd during the Pro Football [+] Hall of Fame Gold Jacket Dinner on August 4, 2016 at the Canton Memorial Civic Center in Canton, Ohio. I dont care how politically connected a person may be. On Tuesday, Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Adrienne Wooten spoke strongly in defense of a gag order in the case of former welfare director John Davis, saying that media coverage of the scandal threatens the courts ability to assemble an impartial jury. We center readers in everything we do, informingand engagingMississippians through reporting, podcasts, events and online communities. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. As we reported, the Mississippi Community Education Center or MCEC was a sub grantee receiving TANF dollars that first flowed through DHS. READ MORE: Coverage of Mississippis sprawling welfare scandal. Webb said she and her organizations financial officer visited WWISCAAs Greenville Center and found just one vehicle in the parking lot. JACKSON, Miss. 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.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. 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. We do not sell or share your information with anyone. All six people charged are Mississippi residents, including the former W.W.E. If youre thinking of altering your workout routine, youre probably looking for new exercises and equipment to help you reach your fitness goals. Looking for something special to get your mom for Mothers Day? All rights reserved. Mr. White said the arrests stemmed from an eight-month investigation into the misappropriation of funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which the state welfare agency administers. The two nonprofits ran an anti-poverty program called Families First for Mississippi, through which most of the money that was allegedly stolen, $4.15 million, or potentially misspent, $94 million, flowed. and I told him I was fine with it, you know that I was okay. "Thats to create the transparency. DHS went on camera with WLBT to answer questions about what happened and what they've changed to prevent the problem from happening again. He then earned a Doctor of Laws degree from Harvard University. The News also directed millions in public money to their private businesses, used the money personally, and concealed the transactions, according to the auditors. Credit: MDHS Twitter A judge in the ongoing welfare embezzlement case is balancing the public's interest in learning how officials misspent tens of millions of federal dollars with a defendant's right to a fair trial. We prefer Author Name, Mississippi Today in the byline. 2023 www.clarionledger.com.
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