Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Brett Favre's deposition in Mississippi's welfare scandal is rescheduled for December

The deposition hearing in the civil lawsuit against retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre in connection with Mississippi’s welfare scandal has been pushed back at the request of the athlete’s attorneys

Via AP news wire
Tuesday 10 October 2023 01:16 BST
Welfare Scandal Mississippi
Welfare Scandal Mississippi (Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The deposition hearing in the civil lawsuit against retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre surrounding Mississippi's welfare scandal has been pushed back at the request of the athlete's attorneys, a court document shows.

Favre is set to answer questions under oath about misspending federal welfare money in Mississippi, where about $77 million in public funds intended to help some of the nation’s poorest people were used to fund pet projects Favre and other well-connected people are accused of supporting with the money. The Pro Football Hall of Famer is among more than three dozen defendants in a lawsuit the state Human Services director filed to recover some of the welfare money.

Favre has denied wrongdoing, sued the state auditor who investigated the misspending for defamation and said he paid back misspent welfare funds.

A notice of deposition filed in Hinds County Circuit Court by attorneys for Mississippi’s Department of Human Services said Favre was scheduled to give sworn testimony on Oct. 26 at a hotel in Hattiesburg. A subsequent court document filed Friday shows the hearing has been rescheduled for Dec. 11 based on a request by Favre's lawyers.

Instead of going to needy families, about $5 million in welfare funds helped pay for a volleyball arena that Favre supported at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, investigators said. Favre’s daughter played volleyball at the school. Another $1.7 million went to develop a concussion treatment drug investigators have said Favre supported.

No criminal charges have been brought against Favre, although a former welfare department director and other people have pleaded guilty to their part in the misspending.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in