Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre is repaying $1.1 million in money that he received for multiple speeches.
Why? Because he did not show up, the Mississippi state auditor said on Wednesday.
Auditor Shad White said his office received $500,000 from Favre on Wednesday. They also received a commitment that Favre will repay the other $600,000 in installments over the next few months.
“I want to applaud Mr. Favre for his good faith effort to make this right and make the taxpayers and TANF families whole,” White said in a statement Wednesday. “To date, we have seen no records indicating Mr. Favre knew that TANF was the program that served as the source of the money he was paid.”
The payments came two days after an audit of spending by the Mississippi Department of Human Services was released. It showed that Favre had been paid by the Mississippi Community Education Center, a nonprofit group.
The former leader has been indicted in a welfare embezzlement scheme.
Favre: “I have spent my entire career helping children…”
On a Facebook post-Wednesday night, Favre said he didn’t know the payments came from welfare funds. He noted his charity had provided millions of dollars to poor kids in his home state of Mississippi and Wisconsin.
Favre played the bulk of his Hall of Fame career with the Green Bay Packers.
“My agent is often approached by different products or brands for me to appear in one way or another. This request was no different, and I did numerous ads for Family First,” Favre wrote.
“I have never received moneys for obligations I didn’t meet. To reiterate Auditors White’s statement, I was unaware that the money being dispensed was paid for out of funds not intended for that purpose, and because of that I am refunding the full amount back to the state of Mississippi.
“I have spent my entire career helping children through Favre 4 Hope donating nearly $10 million to underserved and underprivileged children in Mississippi and Wisconsin.
“It has brought a ton of joy to my life, and I would certainly never do anything to take away from the children I have fought to help! I love Mississippi and I would never knowingly do anything to take away from those that need it most.”
Mississippi Lives Matter
Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the United States. The Community Education Center had contracts with Human Services to spend money through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF).
The center paid Favre Enterprises $500,000 in December 2017 and $600,000 in June 2018. However, he was supposed to make speeches for at least three events.
Favre, who lives in Mississippi, faces no criminal charges. The audit report lists the payments to him as “questioned” costs, which White said means “auditors either saw clear misspending or could not verify the money had been lawfully spent.”
White said the money being repaid by Favre will be sent to the Department of Human Services.
The audit identified $94 million in questionable spending including payments for unnecessary sports activities.
