Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre missed a deadline to repay $228,000 in outstanding interest on misappropriated welfare money he received from the state of Mississippi for no-show speaking appearances.
According to Emily Wagster Pettus of the Associated Press, Mississippi state auditor Shad White said Tuesday that Favre had failed to repay the state and he was turning the matter of the state’s Attorney General and Department of Human Services.
“A little over 30 days ago, my office issued demands on several individuals ordering them to repay misspent welfare money,” White said in a statement. “As I said at the time, if any of those individuals failed to repay the money, the demands will be forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office, which is in charge of enforcing the demands in court. My team has now forwarded the unpaid demands to the AG’s office. My understanding is the Attorney General and the Department of Human Services have given authority to a private attorney to recoup the misspent money. We have been in contact with that attorney and will provide any information he needs.”
Favre was paid $1.1 million by the state “for appearances, promotions, autographs and speaking engagements.” However, Favre did not speak, and wasn’t even present, at the events in question for which he was paid. Favre has taken issue with that characterization that he was paid for no-show appearances.
Favre initially repaid $500,000 in May 2020 with a commitment to pay the remaining amount in installments in the following months. It took over a year for Favre to get the rest of the initial $1.1 million paid back to the state, which he accomplished last month.
Favre is not facing criminal charges. However, several individuals involved have been charged with embezzlement for funneling millions in federal welfare funds to a for-profit education company.