Former WWE wrestler Ted DiBiase Jr., the son of Ted “The Million Dollar Man” DiBiase Sr., has been charged with embezzling millions of federal safety-net funds for needy families in Mississippi, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday .
DiBiase Jr. was among a group of people who have allegedly used those funds, which were intended for low-income individuals and families, for their own personal gain.
John Davis, the executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, Christi Webb, the director of North Mississippi Inc.’s Human Resource Center, and Nancy New, who headed the Mississippi Community Education Center, are among those named in the indictment So.
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Teddy DiBiase Jr. before his first professional fight for World League Wrestling on July 8, 2006 in Eldon, Missouri. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
In an official release, the Department of Justice explained that federal funds, which came from the Emergency Nutrition Program and the Temporary Assistance Program for Needy Families, among others, were directed by Davis’ MDHS as grants to the Webb and New organizations.
Davis then urged Webb and New to award “bogus contracts to various individuals and organizations purportedly providing social services, including at least five bogus contracts awarded to DiBiase’s companies, Priceless Ventures LLC and Familiae Orientem LLC,” according to the press release.
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The indictment added that DiBiase Jr.’s organizations received millions of dollars to provide community services they failed to provide and never intended to.
Instead, the indictment alleges that DiBiase Jr. used the funds to “purchase a vehicle and boat and for the down payment on a home purchase, among other expenses.”
“DiBiase is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and theft related to programs that receive federal funds, six counts of wire fraud, two counts of theft related to programs that receive federal funds, and four counts of money laundering,” the statement said Explanation .
DiBiase Jr. would face a maximum of five years on the conspiracy charge, 20 years on each count of wire fraud, and 10 years on each count of theft and money laundering, if convicted.
Teddy DiBiase Jr. trains in the ring at Harley Race’s Wrestling School in Eldon, Missouri on July 5, 2006. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
In 1999, DiBiase Sr. founded the Heart of Davis Ministry as he is currently a Christian minister. In February 2020, reports said the department had received more than $2.1 million in welfare payments from the state of Mississippi after his son Brett was hired as the State Department’s assistant human services administrator. Later in October 2022, a court ordered DiBiase Sr. to pay $722,299 in misappropriated funds.
Then the DiBiase family was sued by the Mississippi Department of Human Services in a case involving NFL Hall of Famer quarterback Brett Favre to recover $20 million in “wasted” funds in what has been dubbed the largest fraud case in the United States applies to state history.
“I have been unfairly slandered in the media,” Favre said in a statement exclusively made available to Fox News Digital in October 2022. “I did nothing wrong and it’s high time to set the record straight.
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“Nobody ever told me, and I didn’t know, that money intended for welfare recipients goes to the university or to me, the goal was and always is to improve my college’s athletic facilities.
“Government agencies provided the funds to Nancy New’s charity, the Mississippi Community Education Center, which then turned over the funds to the university, all with the full knowledge and approval of other state agencies, including the statewide Institute for 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 these funds could be accepted by the university was being done by prosecutors and state officials.”
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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 also included Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes. He left WWE in 2013, although he continued to wrestle on an independent circuit before retiring in 2017.
Fox News’ Joe Morgan contributed to this report