Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre has submitted a request to the Mississippi Supreme Court, urging them to remove him as a defendant in a civil lawsuit aimed at recovering misused welfare funds designated to assist the most vulnerable individuals in the United States.
In recent filings made on Monday, Favre’s legal team strongly contends that the Mississippi Department of Human Services’ claims against him are entirely baseless and lacking merit.
Favre had previously sought to be excluded from the lawsuit, which involves over three dozen defendants, but his request was denied by Hinds County Circuit Judge Faye Peterson on April 24. As a result, Favre is now appealing to the Supreme Court to overturn the judge’s ruling.
According to prosecutors, millions of federal welfare dollars intended for low-income residents in Mississippi were recklessly spent on projects endorsed by affluent or influential individuals between 2016 and 2019.
The lawsuit filed by the Department of Human Services alleges that funds from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program were unlawfully utilized, including the allocation of $5 million towards a volleyball arena at the university where Favre had attended, and where his daughter was involved in the sport. An additional $1.7 million was allegedly directed toward the development of a concussion treatment drug.
It is important to note that Favre has not faced any criminal charges in connection with this matter, although several other individuals have pleaded guilty for their involvement in the mishandling of funds.
In their submission to the state Supreme Court, Favre’s legal team argues that officials from the Department of Human Services, along with Nancy New, who oversaw a nonprofit organization with contracts from the department, were responsible for devising and executing the scheme to divert welfare funds to the volleyball center, and that Favre played no part in these activities.
Favre’s attorneys had previously asserted that the Department of Human Services was targeting the NFL Hall of Famer to divert attention away from their own culpability in permitting fraud. They had submitted multiple sets of documents seeking Favre’s dismissal from the lawsuit. However, state attorneys claimed in March that Favre’s legal team had merely presented an extensive public statement rather than substantive legal arguments in their attempt to have him removed from the case.
