A former top state official in Mississippi pleaded guilty Thursday to state and federal charges in connection with an embezzlement scheme that auditors say misused millions of welfare dollars, including funneling funds to projects linked to prominent Mississippians such as former NFL star Brett Favre;   

  Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Hinds County District Attorney’s Office announced that former Mississippi Department of Human Services chief John Davis has pleaded guilty to two federal charges and 18 state charges.   

  Davis, 54, served as director of the Department of Human Services at a time when state auditors said more than $70 million in federal welfare funds were being misused, including spending on officials’ personal expenses and charities on projects unrelated to the welfare program. .   

  The Justice Department said Davis and his “co-conspirators” used federal funds “for their own personal use and benefit.”   

  “At Davis’ direction, MDHS provided federal funds to two nonprofits and then directed the two nonprofits to fraudulently award contracts to various entities and individuals for social services that were never provided,” federal prosecutors said in a release. type.   

  On Thursday, the former state official pleaded guilty to two federal charges: one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and theft related to programs receiving federal funds and one count of theft related to programs receiving federal funds, the DOJ said.  He could be sentenced to up to five years in prison on the conspiracy charge and 10 years on the theft charge.   

  Davis also pleaded guilty to five counts of conspiracy and 13 counts of wire fraud in Hinches County, District Attorney Jody E. Owens said in a tweet Thursday.   

  “Davis was one of six defendants arrested and later indicted in 2020 in one of the largest embezzlement schemes in Mississippi history,” Owens said.   

  The massive fraud scheme was uncovered in 2020 by a state audit of federal funds allocated to government agencies.  When state auditor Shad White announced the finding, he called the plan “the most egregious bad spending my staff has seen in his career.”   

  The eight-month investigation showed the department gave more than $98 million to two nonprofits: the Mississippi Community Education Center and the North Mississippi Family Resource Center.  Of the $98 million, $94 million was “questioned,” meaning it was either definitively misspent or auditors could not determine whether it was spent legally.   

  The state comptroller said about $77 million was earmarked for a state welfare program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.   

  Last week White told CNN: “I think what you had was a lot of money funneled through a government agency that then decided to funnel that money to a nonprofit.  There just weren’t many checks on how this nonprofit was spending that money until the comptroller’s office started looking into it.   

  “And then, you know, taking another step forward into the future, I think it’s important to show the public that there will be consequences for this.”   

  More than $4 million was used to build a Brett Favre-backed volleyball center at the University of Southern Mississippi, Favre’s alma mater, and where his daughter played the sport at the time, according to investigators.   

  The state of Mississippi filed a lawsuit against more than 35 individuals and entities, including the Pro Football Hall of Famer, earlier this year.   

  The text messages were released last week as part of a civil suit by lawyers for the nonprofit founded by Nancy New, who has already pleaded guilty to charges related to the welfare fund scheme.  They showed Favre discussing getting money through the New nonprofit and expressing his love for Davis after being told about the funding, as well as meetings with Davis and former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant about the funding.   

  Bryant and Favre have not been criminally charged with any wrongdoing at this time.  Bryant is also not named as a defendant in the civil suit.   

  The former quarterback’s attorney told CNN that Favre, who retired after the 2010 season and a 20-year NFL career, was unaware that welfare funds were being used for the volleyball center and that his fundraising efforts for the volleyball center were honorary.