Former WWE wrestler Ted DiBiase Jr., son of Ted “The Million Dollar Man” DiBiase Sr., has been charged with embezzling millions in federal safety net funds for needy families in Mississippi, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday.
DiBiase Jr. was Among a group of individuals who have allegedly used these funds intended for low-income individuals and families for their own personal benefit.
John Davis, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, Kristi Webb, president of the Human Resources Center of Northern Mississippi Inc., and Nancy New, who directed the Mississippi Community Education Center, are among those named in the indictment as well.
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Teddy DiBiase Jr. before his first professional fight in World Championship Wrestling on July 8, 2006 in Eldon, Missouri. (Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
In an official statement, the Department of Justice stated that federal funds, which came from the Emergency Food Assistance Program and the Temporary Assistance Program for Families in Need program, among others, were directed to Webb’s and New’s by MDHS in Davis as subsidiary organizations.
Davis then told Webb and New, according to the release, to “award bogus contracts to several individuals and entities alleged to provide social services, including at least five bogus contracts awarded to DiBiase firms, Priceless Ventures LLC and Familiae Orientem LLC.”
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The indictment added that DiBiase Jr.’s organizations were given millions of dollars to provide social services, which they never provided or intended.
Instead, the indictment alleges that DiBiase Jr. used the money to “buy a car and boat, make a down payment on a house, among other expenses.”
“DiBiase is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and committing theft related to programs receiving federal funds, six counts of wire fraud, two counts of theft related to programs receiving federal funds, and four counts of money laundering,” the statement read. .
If convicted, DiBiase Jr. will face a maximum of five years for conspiracy, 20 years for each online fraud, and 10 years for each theft and money laundering charge.
Teddy DiBiase Jr. practices in the ring at Harley Race Wrestling School on July 5, 2006, in Eldon, Missouri. (Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
In 1999, DiBiase Sr. founded Heart of Davis Ministry where he currently serves as a Christian minister. In February 2020, the department was reported to have received more than $2.1 million in welfare money from the state of Mississippi after hiring his son, Bretts, as deputy director of the State Administration of Human Services. Later in October 2022, a court ordered DiBiase Sr. by paying $722,299 in embezzled funds.
Then, the Mississippi Department of Human Services sued DiBiase’s family, in a case that also involved NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre, among others, to recover $20 million in “wasted” money, considered the largest fraud case in history. Country.
“The media has been unfairly smeared,” Favre said in a statement provided exclusively to Fox News Digital in October 2022. “I have done nothing wrong, and it is time to set the record straight.
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“Nobody told me, nor did I know, that the money for welfare recipients would go to the university or me. I tried to help my alma mater, Mississippi State University, raise money for a health center. The goal was and always will be to improve the athletic facilities at my university.
State agencies provided funds to the Nancy New Charity, the Mississippi Community Education Center, which then provided funds to the university, all with the knowledge and approval of other government agencies, including the statewide Institute of Higher Education, the governor’s office and the attorney general’s office.
WWE Superstar Ted DiBiase Jr. On August 16, 2012, in Beverly Hills, California. (David Livingston/Getty Images)
“I was told that the legal work to ensure that this money was accepted by the university was done by state attorneys and state employees.”
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DiBiase Jr. is best known in the wrestling world for his role as one of the three members of “The Legacy,” which included Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes. He left WWE in 2013, though he continued to wrestle on the independent circuit before calling it quits in 2017.
Fox News’ Joe Morgan contributed to this report
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