We could not cease funding until we had that letter from the state auditor (in January 2020). of interest to residents of Northeast Mississippi. Nancy New and her son are also accused of transferring millions in TANF funds to their private businesses, White said. 0:53. We work to provide free, accessible news for everyone to create a more informed Mississippi and hold public officials accountable. Gov. Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization. The money was stolen from TANF funds, federal money entrusted to the state for needs of the poor. You may opt-out by. The Hinds County District Attorney secured an indictment on December 14, 2021. But their counsel argued that a broader order that prevented White and Anderson from discussing Davis tenure overall such as policies, procedures and events separate from the criminal charges would be too restrictive and prevent them from being transparent with the public about ongoing investigations and findings. The News also directed millions in public money to their private businesses, used the money personally, and concealed the transactions, according to the auditors. All rights reserved. Founded in 2016 as the states first nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom, Mississippi Todays roots in Capitol coverage have grown to encompass a myriad of beats beyond politics and policy, including education, public health, justice, environment, equity, and, yes, sports. Mike Hurst, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, complained on Thursday, Feb. 6, the day after the arrests, that his office had not been notified in advance by the state auditors office. "We look forward to this moving through the justice system to a final disposition.". You have to credit Mississippi Today. "MDHS self-reported the information that initiated this investigation to former Gov. 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. He also denied knowing Favre and Vanlandingham were receiving public funding for Prevacus, though text messages suggest he knew. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Anne McGrew is the accountant for the Mississippi Community Education Center. As we reported, the Mississippi Community Education Center or MCEC was a sub grantee receiving TANF dollars that first flowed through DHS. 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. HINDS COUNTY, Miss. Ricky Jones, who has served as president of 100 Black Men of Jackson since March, said his organization just learned about the investigation last week when DHS notified them they would not be receiving a welfare grant this year. A combination of both, the attorney answered. 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. Theyve also started bringing in subgrantees for training on whats expected and how they can best meet federal guidelines. As a reminder, the scheme includes more than $4.15 million dollars in embezzled government money. Johnson returned to the office, but the next day when he came into work, he got the news. Any chance you and Nancy can help with that? Follow him on Twitter @gbolognaCL. MDHS self-reported the. Bryant denied introducing Favre or Vanlandingham to the nonprofit director, Nancy New. Brookhaven is in Lincoln County in the southwest quadrant of Mississippi. I'm the Executive Director. Mr. DiBiase, who comes from a professional wrestling family, did not immediately respond to an email request for comment. We did reach out to Davis attorney Merrida Coxwell for comment. Davis is indicted along with Nancy New, her son Zach New, Anne McGrew, Latimer Smith and Brett DiBiase. Before joining the staff at Mississippi Today in September of 2018, Anna worked for three years at Clarion Ledger, Mississippis statewide daily newspaper. Mugshots: Ex-welfare chief, wrestler, others charged in Mississippi fraud case. Thats to be open with how funds are distributed and who theyre going to.. We work to provide free, accessible news for everyone to create a more informed Mississippi and hold public officials accountable. Skip to content. Logan Reeves, a spokesman for the auditor's office, said all the arrests were made Wednesday. MDHS sits down to discuss the embezzlement case for the first time since the news broke a week ago. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories. Phil Bryant in January 2016. DHS went on camera with WLBT to answer questions about what happened and what they've changed to prevent the problem from happening again. Johnson said, "I never had any problems prior to that. There was also no answer at the main office of the Mississippi Community Education Center in Jackson. - The former head of the Mississippi Department of Human Services has been arrested as part of a multimillion-dollar embezzlement scheme that among other things paid . There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. She also received first place in the regional Green Eyeshade Awards in 2021 for Public Service in Online Journalism and 2020 for Business Reporting, and the local Bill Minor Prize for Investigative Journalism in 2019 and 2018 for reporting on unfair medical billing practices and hunger in the Mississippi Delta. The indictments were filed under seal in Hinds County, Reeves said. Webb said she and her organizations financial officer visited WWISCAAs Greenville Center and found just one vehicle in the parking lot. Mississippi Auditor Shad White attends Cindy Hyde-Smith's watch party at the Westin Jackson Wednesday, November 27, 2018. The total amount of money lost to these schemes has not yet been determined, but the loss already exceeds any embezzlement . Much more remains to be revealed, including questions such as: The funds were instead taken by a group of influential people for their own benefit, and the scheme is massive. Davis and Smith are accused of fraudulently manufacturing documents to benefit DiBiase using TANF money, White said. In a statement, the Department of Human Services said it had self-reported the information that initiated this investigation to the governors office in June 2019. "We are aware of these types of incidents. 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. By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with Mississippi Today. 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. Shortly after last years arrests in the largest reported public embezzlement scheme in state history, a whistleblower disclosed several previously unreported fraud allegations to the welfare department regarding one of its federal grant recipients. But fast forward to that afternoon session and my cell phone began to vibrate. Johnson said, "I was a special investigator, special investigator, a DHS investigator.". 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. (WLBT) - It was one week ago that the news broke of whats been called the largest public embezzlement case in state history. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have . Instances of fraud and abuse in Mississippis welfare system were widespread, including among other organizations who received subgrants from the Families First nonprofits. JACKSON, Miss. John Davis has been indicted in the largest embezzlement and fraud scheme in state history. MDHS sits down to discuss the embezzlement case for the first time since the news broke a week ago. A former Department of Human Services employee, Latimer Smith, 26, was also arrested, according to Mr. White. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Federal authorities and internal investigators at Mississippi Department of Human Services eventually began investigating the subgrantee, 100 Black Men of Jackson, an agency spokesperson told Mississippi Today on Tuesday. 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. As a reminder, the scheme includes more than $4.15 million dollars in embezzled government money. 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. John Davis, who last year retired from the Department of Human Services, used some of the funds to pay for Brett DiBiase, a former professional wrestler, to go to drug rehab, the state auditor said. (T)heir immediate supervisor called a meeting with the staff in Myersville and told them that they had to document names of clients and activities performed in that center. Please reload the page and try again. Something went wrong. 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.". Davis attorney recently asked the court to extend an existing suppression order in his case to include White and Anderson, citing two recent articles Mississippi Today published about the case. She said that you were disrespectful.". In the nearly two years after agents first arrested Davis, Whites office has publicized continued findings related to welfare spending and Anderson has made media appearances to discuss changes at his agency as it attempts to restore public trust. Nancy New and her son are also accused of transferring millions in TANF funds to their private businesses, White said. That report ultimately led to todays arrests, it said. All of this is being put in place to make sure the sins of the past never recur in the future, added Blanton. 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. 0:27. 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. Mississippi Today retrieved a 2017 email from Family Resource Center director Christi Webb, in which she described to Davis allegations of blatant deception at one of their partners, the local community action agency in Greenville, Warren-Washington-Issaqueena-Sharkey Community Action Agency or WWISCAA. They said Mr. Davis, along with Ms. New and Mr. New, used some of the embezzled funds to invest in medical device companies. Though text messages show Bryant accepted an offer to receive Prevacus shares after he left office, Bryant told Mississippi Today he had no intention of accepting the stock. Please reload the page and try again. 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. She also worked as an investigative reporter for the Center for Public Integrity and Jackson Free Press, the capital citys alternative newsweekly. The State Auditor's office says Davis allowed 98 million dollars meant for the needy to flow into nonprofits where the money was spent to hire lobbyists, on contracts for family members, to purchase vehicles, even repaying a loan. As a reminder, the scheme includes more than $4.15 million dollars in embezzled government money. 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. We work to provide free, accessible news for everyone to create a more informed Mississippi and hold public officials accountable. We are placing high priority on employee morale and engagement. and I told him I was fine with it, you know that I was okay. Here's an attempt to connect the players and what little is known thus far of the plot in this shameful drama: Uncovering the scheme goes back further than you may realize. (WJTV) A former employee for the Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) was arrested for embezzlement after an investigation by the Investigations Division of MDHS. What is the relationship between Davis and the News? ", Danny Blanton Chief Communications Officer with DHS did give us this statement. This spring, Le Creuset has introduced an exciting new shade thats already selling fast: shallot, a soft lavender with pink and slight gray undertones. A top scholar, he won a Rhodes Scholarship and earned a Master of Science degree from Rhodes College in England. So,there was nothing illegal about those transfers, only how it was spent after that. As a nonprofit, your support is what powers our work. You cant edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. Auditor Shad White said his office is still attempting to determine the total amount of money involved, but the "sprawling conspiracy" already exceeds any embezzlement scheme in recent years.
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