mdhs embezzlement scheme

Here's an attempt to connect the players and what little is known thus far of the plot in this shameful drama: 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. Jones said he had no knowledge of any alleged fraud and that the nonprofit had cooperated with audits from the department as well as the auditors office. Johnson said, "Mr. Davis approached me and asked me did I not, did I not want to be there. Johnson said, "I was a special investigator, special investigator, a DHS investigator.". Jones said as a result of the lost funding, 100 Black Men had to cancel some upcoming afterschool and ACT prep programs, but that they would continue other services, such as administering vaccines and a student field trip to Alabama. She explained that she quit due to fear of losing her license and the requirements of the supervisor. MDHS discusses largest embezzlement scheme in state history, upcoming policy changes, Beloved Mississippi school bus driver killed during crash with 18-wheeler, Eleven players with Mississippi ties selected in 2023 NFL Draft, Truck possibly connected to Hinds County jail escape found in Newton County, Paraplegic fisherman speaks to Beulah Baptist Church, Belhaven football puts a smile on the face of little girl, City of Byram awarded thousands of state dollars for infrastructure projects, 58-year-old man shoots brother after argument over a dog in Hazlehurst, Request a First Alert Weather School Visit, Advertising Non-Discrimination Certification. The welfare agency possessed no records showing the outcomes of those programs, an agency spokesperson said. Instances of fraud and abuse in Mississippis welfare system were widespread, including among other organizations who received subgrants from the Families First nonprofits. 0:00. There is no division there when it comes to the criminal portion of the case, Wooten said. When it comes to finding the misspending detailed in the indictments, this was the atmosphere at the agency at the time. Before joining the staff at Mississippi Today in September of 2018, Anna worked for three years at Clarion Ledger, Mississippis statewide daily newspaper. The documentation submitted by the News claimed this was to pay DiBiase for conducting training classes that never, in fact, took place, investigators said. This spring, Le Creuset has introduced an exciting new shade thats already selling fast: shallot, a soft lavender with pink and slight gray undertones. 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. MDHS sits down to discuss the embezzlement case for the first time since the news broke a week ago. 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. Anderson recently told a reporter that his agency had reinstated the practice of sending letters to subgrantees who are suspected of misusing grant funds, which he said Davis administration had stopped. Suspected fraud can be reported to MDHS online any time by submitting the MDHS Fraud Tip Form athttps://www.mdhs.ms.gov/report-fraud/, calling the Fraud Tip Line at 1-(800)-299-6905, or email at fraud@mdhs.ms.gov. Agents also arrested DHS employee Latimer Smith; Dr. Nancy New, owner and director of the Mississippi Community Education Center and New Learning; Zach New, assistant executive director of MCEC; Anne McGrew, accountant for MCEC; and former pro wrestler Brett DiBiase in connection with the multimillion-dollar embezzlement scheme. Latimer Smith is a former employee of DHS. Also, we have had a number of complaints concerning his services. Thats to be open with how funds are distributed and who theyre going to.. He also denied knowing Favre and Vanlandingham were receiving public funding for Prevacus, though text messages suggest he knew. April 14 (UPI) -- A former worker at the Art Institute in Chicago has pleaded guilty to carrying out a $2 million embezzlement scheme. 2023 www.clarionledger.com. Representatives for the nonprofits have not returned several calls and emails over the last year. According to MDHS, investigators said Lashanda Feazell, while Director of Procurement at MDHS, used the agencys credit card to pay her personal cellular phone bills in the amount of $5,741.39 during the period of August 2018 through January 2021. Start a recurring donation of any amount to further this work and help hold public officials and those in power accountable. Johnson says Davis then asked everyone to put away their cellphones and called him into the hallway. According to the auditor's office, Davis and another DHS employee made fake invoices to pay Brett DiBiase a former pro wrestler who later became a DHS employee with money intended to helppoor families. Brett DiBiase pleads guilty in human services embezzlement scheme Keisha Rowe Mississippi Clarion Ledger 0:00 2:16 Brett DiBiase, a former deputy administrator for the Mississippi Department. following organizations: Whoops! Agents also arrested DHS employee Latimer Smith; Dr. Nancy New, owner and director of the Mississippi Community Education Center and New Learning; Zach New, assistant executive director of MCEC; Anne McGrew, accountant for MCEC; and former pro wrestler Brett DiBiase in connection with the multimillion-dollar embezzlement scheme.Tap here for mugshots. Up to $70 million was misspent in the scheme, according to Mississippi Today. Editor's Note: This is Part 1 of a three part series NEMISS.NEWS will publish regarding the matter the state auditor has called the biggest embezzlement of public funds in Mississippi history. Indictments were not found on the electronic courts site for Hinds County. Davis is indicted along with Nancy New, her son Zach New, Anne McGrew, Latimer Smith and Brett DiBiase. Johnson says he never received anything other than glowing employee reviews. The defendants used a variety of business entities and schemes to defraud the taxpayers, investigators said. Editorial cartoons and photo essays are not included under the Creative Commons license and therefore do not have the "Republish This Story" button option. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Webb said she and her organizations financial officer visited WWISCAAs Greenville Center and found just one vehicle in the parking lot. Matter of fact I had gotten a promotion to another department, Johnson said. That ultimately led to (Wednesday's) arrests," DHS officials said in a statement. We could not cease funding until we had that letter from the state auditor (in January 2020). Johnson returned to the office, but the next day when he came into work, he got the news. 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. Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories. She said that you were disrespectful.". Records are kept for all cases from the last 20 years. Mr. DiBiase, who comes from a professional wrestling family, did not immediately respond to an email request for comment. Hall of Fame Gold Jacket Dinner on August 4, 2016 at the Canton Memorial Civic Center in Canton, Ohio. 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. He then earned a Doctor of Laws degree from Harvard University. Create a recurring donation today to join our mission. But the criminal charges only scratch the surface: Under Davis leadership, independent auditors have found $70 million in improper purchases with federal public assistance dollars. Among other things, it is charged that state money was diverted to pay for drug rehabilitation treatment for former wrestler DiBiase at an exclusive drug rehab clinic in Malibu, California. All six people charged are Mississippi residents, including the former W.W.E. When White released the first audit outlining the scheme in May of 2020, he said Davis saw his appointment as head of human services in 2016 as an opportunity to build a kingdom over there. But in the last year, Whites office has declined on several occasions to publicly discuss the particulars of the criminal case. We do appreciate the partnership with Victory Sports and Pauls work. 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. The organizations executive director, Nancy New, 67, and its assistant executive director, Zack New, 37, were arrested on Wednesday, along with the centers accountant, Anne McGrew, 63, state auditors said. Davis and Smith are accused of fraudulently manufacturing documents to benefit DiBiase using TANF money, White said. {"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)"}}}} Davis and Smith created documents and arranged payment knowing DiBiase was not performing the work he was hired to perform, White said. 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. 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. Earlier news reports indicated that the initial inquiry into the MDHS scandal may have been kicked off by Governor Bryant himself. MDHS sits down to discuss the embezzlement case for the first time since the news broke a week ago. We certainly do not want to falsely accuse. Mugshots: Ex-welfare chief, wrestler, others charged in Mississippi fraud case. Executive Director John Davis was two-and-half-years into his time as head of the agency when they decided to add an Office of Inspector General within DHS. The two nonprofits ran an anti-poverty program called Families First for Mississippi, through which most of the money that was allegedly stolen, $4.15 million, or potentially misspent, $94 million, flowed. As a reminder, the scheme includes more than $4.15 million dollars in embezzled government money. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Several people were arrested and charged on Feb. 5, 2020. Hurst said federal law enforcement was not aware of the MDHS investigation until they read about it in media reports. wrestler Brett DiBiase, 31, who state auditors said was paid with welfare funds for teaching classes about drug use. . Special agents from the office of State Auditor Shad White have arrested John Davis, the former director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, and five others in a multimillion-dollar embezzlement scheme. Whites statement said John Davis, former head of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, had been arrested and charged in connection with a multi-million-dollar embezzlement scheme.. We will continue to follow this case and update you as new developments are made available. The centers director had made a call to her warning her that we were there. Uncovering the scheme goes back further than you may realize. Reginald Johnson had been with MDHS since 2007. Phil Bryant and other officials in his home state in order to influence roughly $8 million in welfare payments for himself, pharmaceutical company Prevacus, and a volleyball court for the University of Southern Mississippi, according to an expose published last week Mississippi Todaythough Favre has not been charged criminally or accused of a crime. She received the National Press Foundations 2020 Poverty and Inequality Award. At Davis direction, MCEC used TANF money received from DHS to pay for DiBiases opioid treatment at the Rise in Malibu facility, White said. 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. He had the latitude to unilaterally disperse funds as he felt necessary or wanted to, Blanton confirmed. Executive Director John Davis was two-and-half-years into his time as head of the agency when they decided to add an Office of Inspector General within DHS. As a reminder, the scheme includes more than $4.15 million dollars in embezzled government money. A former Department of Human Services employee, Latimer Smith, 26, was also arrested, according to Mr. White. Anna Wolfe, a native of Tacoma, Wa., is an investigative reporter writing about poverty and economic justice. We work to provide free, accessible news for everyone to create a more informed Mississippi and hold public officials accountable. DHS made a post on Facebook Wednesday saying it "self-reportedthe information" that led to the investigation. In July 2019, he announced he would resign by the end of the month. We work to provide free, accessible news for everyone to create a more informed Mississippi and hold public officials accountable. You have to credit Mississippi Today. If that doesnt happen, that money will go to a deserving charity.. The former head of the Mississippi Department of Human Services has been arrested as part of a multi-million dollar embezzlement scheme that among other things paid for a former . Feazell later turned herself into MDHS and Hinds County officials on Monday, February 28, 2022. We do not sell or share your information with anyone. Many more millions are yet to be accounted for and investigators have not revealed the involvement of any other figures, such as state leaders, in the scheme. 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. Anna Wolfe, a native of Tacoma, Wa., is an investigative reporter writing about poverty and economic justice. 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. Zach New, Nancy's son, is the assistant executive director of the Mississippi Community Education Center and is also accused ofusing TANF funds for personal use as well as for investing in private medical device companies. 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. 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. An accountant involved in a a major embezzlement scheme has pleaded guilty to her role in a staggering theft of welfare money in Mississippi, the poorest state in the U.S. Hinds County Circuit. Hurst said, neither the FBI nor the United States Attorneys Office was contacted by the State Auditor or the Hinds County District Attorney about this investigation, although millions of federal dollars are alleged to have been stolen.. 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) The scheme came [] Five plead not guilty in MDHS embezzlement scheme - Vicksburg Daily News Davis and Smith created documents and arranged payment knowing DiBiase was not performing the work he was hired to perform, White said. A former top state official in Mississippi pleaded guilty Thursday to state and federal charges in connection to an embezzlement scheme that auditors say misused millions of welfare dollars,. Show your support>>. Special agents from the office of State Auditor Shad White have arrested John Davis, who retired after 28 years with DHS on July 31 . The Hinds County District Attorney secured an indictment on December 14, 2021. Check back for updates. Since then, the subgrantee process has changed and the state plan for TANF reflects those changes. Nancy New and her son are also accused of transferring millions in TANF funds to their private businesses, White said. The funds mostly came from a federal welfare grant program administered by the Mississippi Department of Human Services, and both the head of the nonprofit and the former head of the MDHS have been charged with and pleaded not guilty to embezzlement and fraud for their roles in the scheme. 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. Webb attached a letter in her email to Davis, showing her organization had terminated their contract with WWISCAA. John Davis was indicted along with several others in the largest embezzlement and fraud scheme in Mississippi history. Create a recurring donation today to join our mission. Advertise with Us. Nancy New and her son are also accused of transferring millions in TANF funds to their private businesses, White said. The indictment alleges his agency entered a $48,000 contract with ex-wrestler Brett DiBiase to conduct opioid addiction education courses, and paid him knowing he wasnt conducting the work because he was in rehab. A $50,000 surety bond covers Jackson's employment as the Farmington City Clerk. That report ultimately led to todays arrests, it said. Davis resigned as head of MDHS in July, 2019. And at that point we did, Blanton said. But fast forward to that afternoon session and my cell phone began to vibrate. . MDHS released a statement about the arrests. 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. Persons arrested by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Rumor was that some MDHS employees brought the matter to Bryants attention in June, and that Governor Bryant pointed White to the problem. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Davis and Smith are accused of fraudulently manufacturing documents to benefit DiBiase using TANF money, White said. The indictments, which were returned by a Hinds County grand jury, include a range of violations involving fraud and embezzlement, White said in a news release. The matter was referred to the Hinds County District Attorney Office for criminal prosecution after terminating her employment. 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. They dont need it at the moment. A DHS spokesperson rejected the auditors narrative that the department did not disclose fraud reports to the auditors office. The agency has still not adopted a comprehensive approach to responding to and reporting suspected fraud; additionally, the agency did not take all the needed steps to verify suspected fraud was investigated timely and misappropriated monies were returned, the audit stated. 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. DiBiase was allegedly paid to teach classes about drug use and instead used the money to pay for his own drug rehabilitation in Malibu, California. At Davis direction, MCEC used TANF money received from DHS to pay for DiBiases opioid treatment at the Rise in Malibu facility, White said. Phil Bryant's office in June 2019. Help keep the momentum going by rejoining our member community today. Uncovering the scheme goes back further than you may realize. New is the executive director of Oxford University School. And they did start an internal audit at the beginning of 2019. What is the extent of the relationship between Tate Reeves and the News, mother and son? ", Danny Blanton Chief Communications Officer with DHS did give us this statement. Please refresh the page and/or try again. Before joining the staff at Mississippi Today in September of 2018, Anna worked for three years at Clarion Ledger, Mississippis statewide daily newspaper. Copyright 2020 WLBT. The February 2020 internal report claimed that an employee of 100 Black Men falsified timesheets to pay people who were not working at the nonprofit and that they were using federal money to buy personal items for staff and their family, according to the audit, which did not name the organization. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Auditor:State agencies must improve when it comes to cybersecurity. We believe that an informed Mississippi is a better Mississippi. 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. Theres a lot of flexibility given for how states use TANF funds. Therefore, while doing our due diligence, Paul LaCoste was asked not to use Families First for Mississippis brand and his funding was suspended. New sent a similar email to former Department of Human Services Director Christopher Freeze, who took over for Davis a few months after Davis retired in 2019. He attended public schools there and then obtained an undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi. Copyright 2020 WLBT. The community action agency did not return calls to Mississippi Today Tuesday morning. Help keep the momentum going by rejoining our member community today. Maine resident sentenced to 3 years in prison for fraud and tax offenses stemming from $1.8 million embezzlement scheme; April 14, 2023. "Thats to create the transparency. A combination of both, the attorney answered.

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