"Thats to create the transparency. 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. By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with Mississippi Today. Sign up for our daily newsletter to get the latest updates on the Mississippi welfare scandal. This inability to validity MCECs records is further complicated by the fact that the principals of MCEC are currently under indictment and essentially unavailable to MDHS to review any further documentation or answer questions.. "MDHS would like to thank the Office of the State Auditor investigators for their diligent work in seeing this investigation through," the post said. We work to provide free, accessible news for everyone to create a more informed Mississippi and hold public officials accountable. Others doing this kind of thing are on notice: This will not be tolerated now., Former Mississippi Welfare Director Charged With Embezzling Millions, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/us/john-davis-mdhs-brett-dibiase.html. Davis is indicted along with Nancy New, her son Zach New, Anne McGrew, Latimer Smith and Brett DiBiase. We prefer Author Name, Mississippi Today in the byline. White and Anderson did not object to being included in the gag order, agreeing to refrain from discussing Davis criminal culpability. All of this is being put in place to make sure the sins of the past never recur in the future, added Blanton. following organizations: Whoops! This investigation demonstrates the strengthened controls we have put in place to identify, investigate, and prosecute fraud, waste, and abuse at any level, by any individual, MDHS Executive Director Robert G. Bob Anderson said. Mississippi Auditor Shad White attends Cindy Hyde-Smith's watch party at the Westin Jackson Wednesday, November 27, 2018. Nine of them have pleaded guilty to embezzlement charges . ", Danny Blanton Chief Communications Officer with DHS did give us this statement. Johnson said, "Mr. Davis approached me and asked me did I not, did I not want to be there. Brett DiBiase has pleaded guilty for his role in an embezzlement scheme that investigators said was the largest in state history.The former pro wrestler was arrested in July 2019 along with several others, including former Mississippi Department of Human Services Director John Davis.DiBiase entered a guilty plea Thursday in Hinds County Circuit Court to making fraudulent statements for the . To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS). If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using. State auditors said Mr. Davis, of Brookhaven, Miss., conspired with the administrators at a nonprofit, the Mississippi Community Education Center, and the organizations accountant to defraud taxpayers and create phony invoices. He said I'm going to call your supervisor and I need you in the meantime I need you to go back into the classroom and get your property and get out of my classroom right now, said Johnson. The scheme came [] Five plead not guilty in MDHS embezzlement scheme - Vicksburg Daily News In July 2019, he announced he would resign by the end of the month. Logan Reeves, a spokesman for the auditor's office, said all the arrests were made Wednesday. It is also charged that DiBiase was paid state money for drug education work that he did not perform. Instances of fraud and abuse in Mississippis welfare system were widespread, including among other organizations who received subgrants from the Families First nonprofits. Shad White:Transparency: Is Mississippi spending too much or not enough money on childrens programs? We believe that an informed Mississippi is a better Mississippi. The money was stolen from TANF funds, federal money entrusted to the state for needs of the poor. "MDHS self-reported the information that initiated this investigation to former Gov. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Chinese electric vehicle brands expand to global, Met Gala: Rihanna, Jared Leto as Choupette, Kim K., Crisler still running for sheriff despite indictment, Met Gala 2023 live updates: Fashion highlights from, Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot dies at 84, MS Insight for April 30, 2023: Steffey and Thompson, Poll: Mississippians strongly favor Presleys ideas, Poll: Presley slips, Gov. The report also said Victory Sports charged a fee for participants in the boot camp to attend and it did not conduct any kind of eligibility to ensure it was serving those in need. White has called for a full forensic audit of MDHS. We could not cease funding until we had that letter from the state auditor (in January 2020). What it looks like is that one side of the story is being put out there, Wooten said. Look for the "Republish This Story" button underneath each story. There really hadnt been the internal auditing capability, the program integrity ability before that we had at that point that was created, explained DHS Chief Communications Officer Danny Blanton. District Attorney John Weddle's office will prosecute the case. He added that, Anything they gave to the campaign will be there waiting to return to the taxpayers and help the people it was intended for. It was not immediately clear Wednesday night if Mr. Davis or the other five charged had lawyers, and no one answered the phone at the homes of Mr. Davis, Ms. New, Mr. New and Mr. Smith. We center readers in everything we do, informingand engagingMississippians through reporting, podcasts, events and online communities. Davis attorney argues that when White and Anderson have discussed the case with the media, they have focused solely on Davis actions and not the several other employees who approved various purchases or the agency policies that he argues sanctioned Davis conduct. Newis accused of using TANF funds for her personal use as well as for investing in private medical device companies. One of the nonprofits, Mississippi Community Education Center, shuttered after law enforcement arrested its owner Nancy New, while officials at the other nonprofit, Family Resource Center of North Mississippi, have not faced criminal charges. {"requests":{"event":"https:\/\/mississippitoday.org\/wp-content\/plugins\/newspack-popups\/includes\/..\/api\/campaigns\/index.php"},"triggers":{"trackPageview":{"on":"visible","request":"event","visibilitySpec":{"selector":"#c237","visiblePercentageMin":50,"totalTimeMin":250,"continuousTimeMin":100},"extraUrlParams":{"popup_id":"id_989879","cid":"CLIENT_ID(newspack-cid)"}}}} Johnson says Davis then asked everyone to put away their cellphones and called him into the hallway. 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. A former Department of Human Services employee, Latimer Smith, 26, was also arrested, according to Mr. White. DHS made a post on Facebook Wednesday saying it "self-reportedthe information" that led to the investigation. "We look forward to this moving through the justice system to a final disposition.". 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. When it comes to finding the misspending detailed in the indictments, this was the atmosphere at the agency at the time. State Auditor Shad White said in a statement released Sunday, Tomorrow morning I am heading to FBI offices where my agents and I will brief them on the DHS scheme and make all the evidence we have gathered available. Representatives for the nonprofits have not returned several calls and emails over the last year. Check out these great suggestions. There really hadnt been the internal auditing capability, the program integrity ability before that we had at that point that was created, explained DHS Chief Communications Officer Danny Blanton. Read more. Tate Reeves appointed the agencys current director, Bob Anderson, in March of 2020. The defendants used a variety of business entities and schemes to defraud the taxpayers, investigators said. 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. According to the auditor's office, there are at least six people involved, though the investigation is ongoing. She also worked as an investigative reporter for the Center for Public Integrity and Jackson Free Press, the capital citys alternative newsweekly. To learn more about our cartoon syndication services. READ OUR FULL MISSISSIPPI WELFARE COVERAGE, Audit: 5.5% of Mississippis unemployment payouts in 2020 were improper, Jill Biden visits Jackson State vaccination site, encourages Mississippians to get your shot, $9,500-a-month mortgage on his horse ranch, Anna Wolfe answers reader questions about the Mississippi welfare scandal, Welfare case judge shoots down Brett Favres attempts to dismiss charges, Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. 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. The documentation submitted by the News claimed this was to pay DiBiase for conducting training classes that never, in fact, took place, investigators said. Create a recurring donation today to join our mission. Phil Bryant's office in June 2019. JACKSON, Miss. The welfare agency possessed no records showing the outcomes of those programs, an agency spokesperson said. 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. He resigned in July 2019, at about the same time the auditor's office began its investigation. So,there was nothing illegal about those transfers, only how it was spent after that. Theres a lot of flexibility given for how states use TANF funds. White launched the initial investigation into how Davis administered welfare. 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. We look forward to this moving through the justice system to a final disposition.. According to a Mississippi Today review of public records, the agency sent out 110 letters during roughly the last year under Anderson compared to four letters in fiscal year 2019 under Davis. As a reminder, the scheme includes more than $4.15 million dollars in embezzled government money. Create a recurring donation today to join our mission. HINDS COUNTY, Miss. All TANF funds will go through the RFP process, Blanton said. Earlier news reports indicated that the initial inquiry into the MDHS scandal may have been kicked off by Governor Bryant himself. Special agents from the office of State Auditor Shad White have arrested John Davis, who retired after 28 years with DHS on July 31 . Skip to content. A relative newcomer to Mississippi politics, Shadrach Shad Tucker White is 34 years old and was born in Sandersville in Jones County, MS. READ MORE: Coverage of Mississippis sprawling welfare scandal. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. The News also directed millions in public money to their private businesses, used the money personally, and concealed the transactions, according to the auditors. Johnson says he never received anything other than glowing employee reviews. All of this is being put in place to make sure the sins of the past never recur in the future, added Blanton. The matter was referred to the Hinds County District Attorney Office for criminal prosecution after terminating her employment. 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. Although the total amount of money embezzled has not been determined, Auditor White characterized it as the largest public embezzlement case in state history.. 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. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have . Many employees have said they were fired for menial things. We work to provide free, accessible news for everyone to create a more informed Mississippi and hold public officials accountable. If youre thinking of altering your workout routine, youre probably looking for new exercises and equipment to help you reach your fitness goals. Therefore, while doing our due diligence, Paul LaCoste was asked not to use Families First for Mississippis brand and his funding was suspended. All persons arrested by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Up to $70 million was misspent in the scheme, according to Mississippi Today. 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. The complexity of the cover-up was as such that it wouldve been highly unlikely that anybody wouldve uncovered it, except by being able to find it from within, Blanton said. Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. Follow him on Twitter @gbolognaCL. The complexity of the cover-up was as such that it wouldve been highly unlikely that anybody wouldve uncovered it, except by being able to find it from within, Blanton said. Several people were arrested and charged on Feb. 5, 2020. You cant edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. Michael Maurello, 56, worked as a payroll manager at the . All rights reserved. MDHS self-reported the. 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. Mississippi welfare embezzlement scandal: What we know so far. She explained that she quit due to fear of losing her license and the requirements of the supervisor. To learn more about our cartoon syndication services. . What is the relationship between Davis and the News? Great Jones Cookware Review: Is It Worth Buying? At Davis direction, MCEC used TANF money received from DHS to pay for DiBiases opioid treatment at the Rise in Malibu facility, White said. You can only publish select stories individually not as a collection. White confirmed in an interview earlier today that Governor Bryant, himself a former state auditor, was indeed the whistleblower who brought the case to the state auditors office in June. following organizations: Whoops! 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. a proud member of the Anna Wolfe, a native of Tacoma, Wa., is an investigative reporter writing about poverty and economic justice. Davis may face trial in September. DHS spokesperson Danny Blanton rejected the auditors narrative that the department concealed fraud reports from the auditors office.
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