Former professional wrestler Ted DiBiase Jr. has been cleared of all federal charges linked to alleged involvement in the largest welfare scandal in Mississippi history.
A federal jury on Friday found DiBiase not guilty of 13 charges connected to allegations that he knowingly and illegally accepted millions of dollars through government campaigns aimed at helping poor people, including the Emergency Food Assistance Program and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Approximately $94 million in taxpayer funds is believed to have been misspent in the scheme.
Notable figures involved in this case include former Mississippi Department of Human Services Executive Director John Davis, nonprofit founders Nancy New and Christi Webb, along with Dibiase’s brother, Brett. Davis, New, Webb, and Brett DiBiase have all pleaded guilty to charges they faced.
“While I’m disappointed in the result of the trial, nothing changes the fact that seven people have already pleaded guilty to state or federal charges because of the welfare scandal,” stated State Auditor Shad White, whose office uncovered the welfare scandal. “My hope now is that the state’s lawyers will be able to recover as much of the misspent money as possible in civil court so hard-working taxpayers can see some accountability for what happened here.”
As part of the scheme, after federal funds were issued to the Mississippi Department of Human Services, Davis directed the agency to sub-grant the funds to two nonprofit organizations, Family Resource Center of North Mississippi Inc. and Mississippi Community Education Center, which were operated by Webb and New, respectively.
Davis then directed Webb and New to award sham contracts to various individuals and entities for the delivery of social services, including at least five sham contracts that were awarded to DiBiase’s companies, Priceless Ventures and Familiae Orientem.
The nonprofits gave taxpayer funds to DiBiase and his companies for social services that prosecutors said he never provided. Instead, DiBiase is said to have used the federal funds to buy a vehicle and a boat and on a down payment on a house in Madison’s Reunion neighborhood, among other expenditures.
DiBiase, a former WWE wrestler and the son of Ted “The Million Dollar Man” DiBiase, was acquitted after a federal trial in Jackson that lasted over two months.