A Former Governor, an Pro Hall-of-Famer, and a Non-Profit: the Timeline of the USM Welfare Scandal

An iconic Southern Miss Alumni and Pro Hall-of-Famer is now at the forefront of the biggest public fraud case in Mississippi history. The head of a non-profit organization and a famous Mississippi governor are tailing behind him. It all stems from said non-profit organization that was made to help the low-income families in Mississippi, and how money from this organization was used to build the Wellness Center on campus.

But with so many people either denying involvement or facing criminal charges, questions are still left unanswered. Many politically connected and elite Mississippians have been revealed to be directly related to the scandal. The scandal involves familiar faces, which will be explained here.

So we start from the beginning, with a volleyball player.

In 2017, the daughter of Brett Favre, the football legend in question, started playing volleyball for Southern Miss. Favre was at one time one of the most famous football players to come from USM, with a legendary NFL career to back it up. Favre quickly established himself as a football icon, coming from our beloved campus. In July 2017, Favre requested the Mississippi Department of Human Services to fund construction of a new volleyball stadium at the university—now known as “the Wellness Center.” At the proposal meeting, Favre met with USM athletics officials, director of the Mississippi Department of Human Service John Davis, and the notorious Nancy New.

New was once viewed as a supportive and kind-hearted woman, with a penchant for aiding the needy and lower-economically developed in her home state. She was even close friends with former Gov. Phil Bryant’s wife, Deborah. New is no stranger to USM, with an office in College Hall and two active scholarships in her name.

In 2016, New was a member of the USM Athletic Foundation. Around the beginning of the construction, New began privately messaging Favre in regard to the cost. New ran the non-profit organization Mississippi Communication Education Center, which gained millions of dollars a year from Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. With that money, lower-income people across the state were supposed to be helped. Instead, this money was funneled into building the Wellness Center. The Southern Miss Athletic Foundation later leased the facilities to MCEC for $5 million, igniting the flame to the fraud. Davis guaranteed $4 million dollars to the construction.

USM and the Southern Miss Athletic Foundation (who paid for the construction) leased the athletic facilities and fields for $1. Head of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, John Davis, guaranteed $4 million to the construction. New’s non-profit organization Mississippi Communication Education Center, which gained millions of dollars a year from Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, gave $5 million to the Southern Miss Athletic Foundation for the project, igniting the flame to the fraud.

In 2016, the foundation consisted of these members: Abb Payne, Al Gordy, Aubrey Collum, Dr. Cathy Sessums, Dr. Evan Dillard, Nancy New, Grant Dyess, Jim Warren, Kami Wert, Krandall Howell, and many others.

The Foundation has declined to comment on the scandal.

In the beginning, Favre was being praised for “funding this project,” but this was not the case. The legendary football player was worth hundreds of millions of dollars during his time in the NFL, and many wonder why he did not use this money to fund the project himself. Favre also had a non-profit cancer research organization, which he used to donate money to cancer research. Evidently, $130,000 was donated to the USM Athletic Foundation from this organization to fund the Wellness Center. Favre also received money funneled from Temporary Assistance of Needy Families of around $2 million to invest in Prevacus, a pharmaceutical company.

Preliminary construction was beginning on the building, with the behind-the-scenes scandal in tow. Favre was in communication with New and even former Governor Phil Bryant. Through text messages, it was reported that Favre, New, and Bryant had started working on a fabricated agreement that would clear them from something that would surely get them caught: TANF did not allow funding for construction of a building. This would be in strict violation of Mississippi Code Ann. 97-7-10.

Enter New’s son, Zachary New. Zachary New admitted to disguising the project as a “lease” to defraud the government, and has now been convicted of such a crime. Meanwhile, New was continuing to send money from her non-profit to this project. Throughout the remainder of 2017, there were two more payments of $2.5 million. At the same time, Favre also received $1.1 million from the organization for “speaking engagements'' that he never showed up for and never happened.

Favre’s contact with Bryant and New continued, but Favre grew worried that the devious misuse of funds would be released to the public, though New eased his nerves. Text messages reveal that Favre worried that the media would discover this, but New stated that they “never have had that information publicized.” Once reassured, Favre was growing confident that they would be able continue to misspend the funds without getting caught.

Text messages from 2019 revealed that Favre was even considering building an indoor football facility on the campus, and was trying to convince Bryant by suggesting that they name the facility after the former governor. Favre believed that it would give the football team “instant credibility,” but Bryant was skeptical of this. Bryant informed Favre that the welfare funds were closely monitored, and that using the money would be violating federal law.

Bryant was not the only one who attempted to stop the misspending. Former USM President Rodney Bennett messaged Bryant in 2020, revealing that he attempted to dissuade Favre from using the funds to build the facility. Bryant agreed with Bennett, believing that Favre had gone too far.

The Office of the President and USM Communications has declined to speak on the scandal.

Things fell apart when Davis was exposed of suspected fraud and indicted in early 2020, leading to FBI interference. Eventually, the minds behind the scandal were expected to present the genuine paperwork that they were suspected of frauding. Davis had been using the welfare funds given to him by New to send to professional wrestler friend at a luxury drug rehabilitation facility in Malibu. He was also using the money to give to his brother-in-law and nephew, for projects and productions that never even happened. Davis also used the money with his family for stays at extravagant hotels and first-class flights. The former MDHS director only got away with this due to fabricated contracts that would allow the money to be disbursed under the guise of use for welfare.

Shad White, the State Auditor, became involved before this point. With the facility nearing completion, there were still loose ends that needed to be tied up. Evidently, it was revealed that the “speaking engagements” Brett Favre was paid for held no merit—as Favre was not present for these engagements. Though Favre denied this, the investigation began. Despite the completion of the facility, the plan had fallen through and the truth was finally starting to come out.

There are many questions relating to White’s involvement in the scandal. For starters, White is a well-known good friend of Bryant’s, having been appointed during his run as governor. In White’s now-released court documents related to the scandal, there are many details relating to Bryant’s involvement simply not there. White’s peers question if this was a matter of conflict of interest, and believe that he should have turned the case over to federal investigators immediately. Nonetheless, the case was public and it was over for this group of Southern nobility.

Favre was ordered to pay back the missing millions, and did so. However, Favre failed to pay back the interest of $228,000.

In February 2020, the New mother-and-son duo were arrested on the charges of stealing over $4 million dollars from the welfare organization that they founded. Davis pleaded guilty to five counts of conspiracy and 13 counts of fraud against the government on September 22, 2022, and has now been sentenced to 32 years in prison.

The News have pleaded guilty to charges of bribery of a public official, fraud against the government, and wire fraud. Nancy New faces up to 100 years in prison, and Zachary New is facing up to 75 years as a part of a plea deal.

Evidently, Favre and Bryant have not been arrested or charged yet, but have faced serious media scrutiny. While the News await sentencing, Favre denies that he ever knew that the money was intended for welfare. Favre and Bryant are now being sued by the state to return the tens of millions of dollars that is involved in this scandal. Favre’s podcasts and SiriusXM radio shows have been suspended indefinitely, despite proclaiming his innocence and “honorable” behavior in this scandal.

In total, $77 million was misspent, making this the largest public embezzlement case in Mississippi history. Though new details behind the scandal are still emerging nearly everyday, the USM campus, Mississippi, and the nation turn a watchful eye to the dishonorable actions that plague this well-known group of Mississippi elites.