Brett Favre files another motion to dismiss Mississippi lawsuit against him in welfare fraud scheme

By Devon M. Sayers and Dianne Gallagher, CNN

Attorneys for Brett Favre have again filed a motion asking a judge to dismiss the former NFL quarterback from a lawsuit filed by the state of Mississippi seeking to recoup millions of dollars distributed as part of what the state calls a statewide welfare fraud scheme.

“It is apparent that MDHS (Mississippi Department of Human Services) has sued Favre, a Mississippi and national celebrity, to try to deflect responsibility for its own egregious wrongdoing in allowing tens of millions of dollars of its public funds to be misspent — funds for which MDHS itself admits it was ‘exclusively responsible,'” Favre’s attorneys wrote in the filing.

“Favre had no control whatsoever over MDHS’s funds, he did not know that the funds at issue were welfare funds, and he did not have any reason to know that the funds were being misused — and MDHS does not and cannot allege that he did.”

In 2020, a state audit found that tens of millions of dollars were improperly used from the state’s welfare program. Portions of the money were used to build a volleyball facility at the University of Southern Mississippi, Favre’s alma mater, as well as to invest in a company that was seeking to develop a concussion drug, a cause that Favre supported. According to the state’s lawsuit, Favre was the “largest individual outside investor and holder of corporate stock” in the company, Prevacus.

The audit also determined Favre was paid $1.1 million for a public service announcement campaign the state auditor says Favre never made. Favre lawyer Eric Herschmann told Fox News in October that Favre “got paid for doing every radio spot that was requested.”

Favre returned $500,000 in May 2020 and repaid the remaining $600,000 in October 2021 for the PSA campaign after the state auditor issued a demand letter for it, according to the auditor’s office. But the auditor’s office maintained in 2021 that Favre still owed $228,000 in interest.

Favre has not been charged criminally in the welfare fraud scheme. He is, however, one of nearly three dozen people and entities named in the civil suit brought by the state to recover some of the funds.

Favre initially filed a motion to dismiss in November, but the state revised its demand against him a month later. The Friday filing is a response to the revised demands.

As part of the scheme, funds meant for MDHS were funneled through a nonprofit and then were used in various projects, including to help build a sports facility, authorities said.

Favre has said he had been asking the state for millions of dollars to build a new volleyball stadium at the University of Southern Mississippi, where he played football from 1987 to 1990 and his daughter played volleyball from 2017 to 2022.

The agreement to transfer the money to the University of Southern Mississippi was approved by the school’s board, the attorney general and then-Gov. Phil Bryant, according to the court filing from Favre.

“The governor (Bryant) was aware of the source of the funding and supported it,” the court filing says, adding, “Not one public Mississippi official or lawyer expressed any objection to or concern about the funding and plan.”

Bryant has previously denied wrongdoing and is not named in the state’s lawsuit.

“Governor Bryant has previously addressed his communications with Brett Favre in a court filing. He provided copies of numerous text messages as exhibits to the filing. He has nothing further to add,” Bryant’s attorney William M. Quin II told CNN via email Monday.

This filing is the latest in an uptick in activity over the past week from Favre related to this case. He also filed defamation lawsuits against two sports commentators as well as the Mississippi state auditor.

Several other defendants in the case also filed their responses with the court on Friday — a major filing deadline in the lawsuit, according to Mississippi Today, which has been following the case closely.

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