The former NFL quarterback and three former pro wrestlers are named in the lawsuit.
Announced on Monday, May 9, Brett Favre, Brett DiBiase, Ted DiBiase Sr., and Ted "Teddy" DiBiase Jr. were all sued by the Mississippi Department of Human Services.
The Department of Human Services is looking to recover millions of welfare dollars intended to help poverty-stricken people in the United States. In the lawsuit, it states that the defendants "squandered" more than $20m in money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families anti-poverty program.
Not long ago, a mother and son who operated a nonprofit group and an education company in Mississippi pleaded guilty to state criminal charges tied to this misspending.
Both defendants agreed to testify against others in what State Auditor Shad White called Mississippi's largest public corruption case in the last twenty years.
How Favre is implicated is that $1.1m was paid to Favre from this welfare fund. White demanded the repayment of the funds which also includes $77m of misspent welfare funds from several people and groups, including Favre.
Favre is stated to have repaid the money, however, White states that as of October he still owes $228,000 in interest. Favre has stated that he had no idea the money came from welfare funds.
On Monday, White said: "I applaud the team filing this suit and am grateful the state is taking another step toward justice for the taxpayers."
He continued: "We will continue to work alongside our federal partners -- who have been given access to all our evidence for more than two years -- to make sure the case is fully investigated."
Attorney General Lynn Fitch and Gov. Tate Reeves said in a joint statement: "Our purpose with this suit is to seek justice for the broken trust of the people of Mississippi and recover funds that were misspent."
The suit states that in 2019 Favre hosted a Prevacus stock sales presentation at his home. Attended by a few of the defendants in the lawsuit, it stated that an agreement was reached to spend "substantial" welfare grant money in Prevacus and later in its corporate affiliate PreSolMD Inc.
