Ted DiBiase Jr. has been charged with the theft of millions of dollars that was reserved for needy families in Mississippi.
According to a federal indictment that was unsealed on Thursday, former WWE star Ted DiBiase Jr. (Theodore Marvin DiBiase Jr) is being accused of using fraudulent means to obtain federal money for his own personal use. DiBiase, John Davis, Christi Webb, Nancy New, and others were named as co-conspirators in the case.
DiBiase is charged with “one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, six counts of wire fraud, two counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, and four counts of money laundering.”
If he is convicted, DiBiase faces the following penalties:
- Five years maximum (in prison) for the conspiracy count
- 20 years maximum for each wire fraud count
- 10 years maximum for each count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and for each count of money laundering
Ted DiBiase Sr. and two of his sons, Ted Jr. and Brett, were named in an October 2021 letter from Mississippi State Auditor Shad White’s office that asked them to pay back the money they received through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families fund. The three were required to do a certain amount of work to receive the money but failed to do so. (Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre and former Oklahoma Sooners star Marcus Dupree were also named in that letter.)
White’s office demanded that Ted DiBiase Jr. must return $3.9 million. Ted DiBiase Sr. was not personally indicted in the allegations but White’s office demanded that he pay $722,299 of the monies that his ministry received. It was alleged Brett funneled money through Ted Sr’s Heart Of David Ministries while he served as a senior official at the Mississippi Department of Human Services. Brett was initially asked to pay $225,950 and he later plead guilty for his role in the welfare scheme.
The full statement from the Department Of Justice is below:
A federal indictment was unsealed today in Mississippi charging a former professional wrestler with misappropriating millions of dollars in federal safety-net funds intended for needy families and low-income individuals in Mississippi.
According to court documents, Theodore Marvin DiBiase Jr., 40, of Madison, along with co-conspirators John Davis, Christi Webb, Nancy New, and others, are alleged to have fraudulently obtained federal funds – including from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program – that they misappropriated for their own personal use and benefit.
Davis was the executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS). As part of the alleged scheme, after federal funds were issued to MDHS, Davis directed MDHS to subgrant the funds to two nonprofit organizations, Family Resource Center of North Mississippi Inc. (FRC) and Mississippi Community Education Center (MCEC), which were operated by Webb and New, respectively. Davis then allegedly directed Webb and New to award sham contracts to various individuals and entities purportedly for the delivery of social services, including at least five sham contracts that were awarded to DiBiase’s companies, Priceless Ventures LLC and Familiae Orientem LLC.
As further alleged in the indictment, under these sham contracts, FRC and MCEC provided millions of dollars in federal funds from MDHS to DiBiase and his companies for social services that DiBiase did not provide and did not intend to provide. DiBiase allegedly used these federal funds to buy a vehicle and a boat, and for the down payment on the purchase of a house, among other expenditures.
DiBiase is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, six counts of wire fraud, two counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, and four counts of money laundering. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy count, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count, and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and for each count of money laundering.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca for the Southern District of Mississippi, Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the FBI Jackson Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Tamala Miles of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Special Agent in Charge Dax Roberson of the Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General (USDA-OIG), and Special Agent in Charge James E. Dorsey of the IRS Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) Atlanta Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI, HHS-OIG, USDA-OIG, and IRS-CI are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Adrienne E. Rosen of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Trial Attorney Della Sentilles of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dave Fulcher and John Meynardie for the Southern District of Mississippi are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
