Brett Favre's Legal Battle: Allegations Of Misused Welfare Funds And The $730,000 Debt

In a reported legal filing, Shad White, an official auditor for the state of Mississippi, has apparently alleged that Brett Favre still owes another $730,000 in order to completely repay the state's welfare funds following allegations of misuse of those funds for personal projects of his own.

Favre has been in the midst of a long legal battle over alleged misused welfare funds since 2020, when he was accused of having received $1.1 million in speaking fees from a nonprofit organization that was itself receiving funding from the Mississippi Department of Human Services as part of its Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Favre himself has faced no criminal charges over the incident, although others involved in it, including an ex-department director, have pleaded guilty to their roles in the affair.

In his role as state auditor, White accused Favre of misappropriating money intended for needy families for his own projects, like the development of a drug for treatment of concussions and a new volleyball arena at the University of Southern Mississippi, his own alma mater. Favre made some pretty big repayments back to the state, cutting checks for $500,000 in May of 2020 and another $600,000 in October of 2021, coming to a total of $1.1 million. However, a new court filing from White in response to an ongoing defamation suit from Favre states he owes another $729,790 in unpaid interest.

"Mr. Favre's meritless defamation suit provides the opportunity for the recovery of the principal and interest which Mr. Favre failed to repay…It boggles the mind that Mr. Favre could imagine he is entitled to the equivalent of an interest-free loan of $1.1 million in taxpayer money, especially money intended for the benefit of the poor."

Favre hasn't commented publicly on the latest chapter in his ongoing legal battle with White over the matter. His defamation suit against Shannon Sharpe over the same claims was dismissed last October, and he dropped his suit against Pat McAfee after the broadcaster made an on-air apology for his previous statements about Favre.