Monday, May 9, 2022

Let the Clawbacks Begin

The Mississippi Attorney General is finally trying to claw back the welfare funds shoveled out to the Krewe of New.   Brad Pigott sued John Davis, Nancy New, and 36 other defendants for TANF funds gained through illegal means in Hinds County Circuit Court today. Some of the high-profile defendants include: Ted "The Million Dollar Man" Dibiase, Sr., Ted "No Dollar" Dibiase, Jr., Brett Dibiase, Nicholas "Uncle Hushpuppy" Cronin Coughlin, Paul Lacoste, Brett Favre, and Marcus Dupree.  Never let it be said the Phil Bryant and the Krewe of New weren't jock-sniffers.  

JJ is still reading the lawsuit but it is posted below.  Stay tuned.



State Auditor Shad White issued the following statement:

“When we issued our civil demands related to the DHS scandal last fall and then turned those demands over to the Attorney General’s Office for enforcement, we knew this day would eventually come. I applaud the team filing this suit and am grateful the state is taking another step toward justice for the taxpayers. We will continue to work alongside our federal partners—who have been given access to all our evidence for more than two years—to make sure the case is fully investigated.”

Governor Tate Reeves and Attorney General Lynn Fitch issued a joint statement as well: 

 

Today, the State of Mississippi filed suit to recover misspent Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds. Governor Tate Reeves and Attorney General Lynn Fitch made the following statement upon filing:
 
“Today, we are filing suit on behalf of the people of Mississippi to begin to recoup funds that were improperly used and diverted from their important purpose of helping families in need. This lawsuit is the culmination of hard work over the past year by the Attorney General’s Office, the Office of the State Auditor, the Department of Human Services, and the Governor’s Office. We note that our investigation and analysis of the misspending of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is far from over and this list of defendants and/or the sums we seek to recover may expand or change. We are mindful that criminal investigations and litigation are occurring on the State and Federal level, as well. Our purpose with this suit is to seek justice for the broken trust of the people of Mississippi and recover funds that were misspent. To promote these ends and to ensure the integrity of our litigation and ongoing investigation, we will not comment beyond this on this case.”

A list of illegal TANF diversions is published on pages 20-23 of the complaint. 

 

62 comments:

Anonymous said...

Paul lacoste rings a bell?

Anonymous said...

Nicholas Cronin Coughlin, the guy who used to work for Butler Snow Advisory? Man, he's betting 1000 isn't he?

https://www.wdam.com/2021/10/04/company-tied-attorney-generals-staffer-questioned-tanf-misspending-auditors-say/

Anonymous said...

Will be interesting to learn why USM was not included.

Anonymous said...

Marcus Dupree is ALWAYS looking for a handout. How does he afford that nice farm in Madison county?

Anonymous said...

How is Southern Miss and Phil Bryant not named in this suit?

Anonymous said...

Still don't see what Favre did wrong. He has always been a jerk, and I think he has brain damage, but show me any tech founder who won't call in every favor possible to get his company going?

Anonymous said...

What could the football coaches association have possibly done wrong except maybe ask for some money? How could they have known?

Kingfish is right, somebody had an affinity for making jocks happy. The arts got screwed in this one.

Anonymous said...

Truly unbelievable Jess New is still the Executive Director of the Mississippi Oil and Gas board as noted in the complaint. Only in Mississippi.

Anonymous said...

Set sphincters to tighten 🤌🏼

Anonymous said...

Not sure what USM did wrong. USM got a volleyball facility in return for committing to letting it be used for events for school groups. I'm sure they would oblige if any school groups asked.

Anonymous said...

USM? That's like the state suing the state. What's the use?

Anonymous said...

The arts got screwed. Funny.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know why this when to Hinds County Court? Why is the state afraid of Turing this over to the FEDS?! All this does is create more loopholes and switch-o-Roos and bureaucracy to untangle.

Anonymous said...

So the loser Million Dollar mans worthless son Brett got em all in trouble ?

Anonymous said...

I guess Anne McGrew (the bookkeeper) flipped on her bosses. She is not named in the suit.

Anonymous said...

Every defendant named is a crook and should be prosecuted criminally.

Anonymous said...

Southern Miss and Phil Bryant -- Too big to fail.

Anonymous said...

I need to read more about Paul's role.

He has probably never been accused of masterminding anything.

(But I 100% would not say that his face)

Anonymous said...

Wonder when they will go against legislators and staff that received free workouts from Paul LaCoste while the public participants paid?

Anonymous said...

Lynn is playing politics too…..no Phil and no Southern Miss.

Anonymous said...

"show me any tech founder who won't call in every favor possible to get his company going"

With welfare money? Really?

Anonymous said...

4:55, he asked the governor to help secure funding. He didn’t ask the governor for welfare money. That’s on Phil.

Anonymous said...

There’s a long list of successful companies in Mississippi that got a boost from knowing the right politician. Very few CEOs wouldn’t at least ask.

Anonymous said...

When the news broke about the TANF wrongdoings, one of the commenters on this site asked a great question - Is the upcoming resignation of USM President Rodney Bennett in any way tied to this scandal? Surely, with all of its PhD people on staff, why didn't anyone at USM question why a $7 million sports facility was being built outside of the Institutions of Higher Learning management system? Doesn't the IHL board control everything that happens on public senior college campuses? Where was Dr. Bennett in all of this?

Anonymous said...

Lynn could not get authority from tate to sue Phil.

So….every defendant in the case will move to add Phil as a co defendant.

Slimy practice by slimy Pigot to go along with Lynn.

Anonymous said...

The big fish have yet to hit the frying pan.
Stay tuned…..BET

Anonymous said...

So the theft of millions of taxpayer dollars allegedly ensued long before Phil allegedly blew the whistle?


All righty then!

Anonymous said...

Concerning what 5:42 predicts...I'm thinking way more manure ends up on Phil due to a significant number of the the co-defendants looking for someone to share thier hard times with.

When you're already thrown under the bus you might think to bring a former deputy along with, simply need to drop the evidence in your filing.

Anonymous said...

So now why is Tater Tot protecting imbecile Phil? Hmmmm

Anonymous said...

There was a P V LaCoste that was a road builder in the 70’s. He built the flyover for I-220 past County Line Road. I’m wondering if Paul LaCoste is some of his ilk

Anonymous said...

5:30, surely you jest because you can’t be that ignorant. Have you seen the money pouring into college sports facilities in this state? I assume the giant Jumbotron at Pete Taylor is next. Geez. Have you seen what they’ve done to Dudy Noble? In Oxford, they are about to tear down half of the football stadium and start over. A volley ball gym hardly draws anybodys attention these days. You see sports facilities going up and just shake your head.

Anonymous said...

Where is longwitz in this? Didn't he receive $400k to do nothing.

Anonymous said...

@5:42 --- don't know where you got your PhDs from, but (1) the AG does not have to get permission from the Governor to sue anybody -- remember Jim Hood and Mike Moore during those years when we had a Republican Governor for proof; (2) there is no way Lynn would consult with Tate about this, would mean that she had to go upstairs and talk - something she doesn't do; (3) explain to the rest of us how a defendant to a lawsuit can add other defendants not brought by the prosecutor.

The actual fact is that the file created by Shad did not include any charges against Phil, thus without their own investigation they had nothing to base a charge on. And this lawsuit is a civil one attempting to get the misspent dollars back. There has been nothing to show that Phil actually had any dollars cross his hands, although he was planning to get some "as soon as he got out of office" but the arrests happening when they did saved his arse. (But even those dollars wouldn't be involved here, because those would be the drug company dollars, not TANF monies.

Outstanding though is what the feds are going to do; in answer to why this is in the state court is because the feds are doing their own investigation -- remember, Shad did not bring in the feds until after his press conference and they went in on their own.

That's when you will see Phil and probably a few others names start popping up. Buy some more popcorn, this show is going to last a long time.

Anonymous said...

Lynn is a Democrat.

Kingfish said...

The lawsuits are based on audits following a money trail. Where is the. money that went to the former Governor? The texts messages are pretty damning but if Phil is indeed culpable, that would be on the criminal side and not the clawback lawsuit.

Anonymous said...

No Cirlot. No SuperTalk. No Southern Miss. Lynn/Shad aren’t pushing those with substantial political fallout.

Anonymous said...

6:43

You clearly are not a lawyer.

This is a civil suit.

Go google that for a while and study up on MRCP and you’ll see third party practice. It’s a thing. Then come back and say you are sorry. We are here for you.

And Lynn would not touch another Republican without getting permission and she clearly didn’t get it. Phil is in a higher orbit with his insane clown friends. But Lynn is a lawyer and knows Phil and others will be added to the civil suit by defendants.

It’s in state court because that’s where that’s the proper court. More rules.

You must have fun just typing stupid stuff on your phone and laughing knowing you are clueless. Troll. I get it.








Anonymous said...

According to the October 17, 2017 IHL Board minutes, the agreement involving the $5 million MDHS Block Grant to fund the USM facility was reviewed and approved by the Attorney General's office prior to the IHL Board's approval.

Hutt Two said...

Who the fig is Uncle Hushpuppy? This is beginning to sound like the farter's contest at the family reunion, while the women slice the coconut cake.

Anonymous said...

I’m certainly not an attorney but I will say this. Do Not Take any sort of federal money and you don’t have to worry about looking over your shoulder. There is no such thing as a no strings government grant….”We here from the guvahmint and we here to help ya’!” Never EVER fall into that trap and Lord knows how many PPP loans are about to be investigated.

Anonymous said...

You people Kra Kra. The real-jock-sniffer is housed in the AG's office. How soon you forget the buffed up body guard and highway-controlmen ridin' shotgun all over the state.

Anonymous said...

Who are Christi Webb and Amy Harris?

Anonymous said...

I only know one Christie Webb. I don’t know how she spells it. Maybe a coincidence. But if not, damn she can get in the middle of some shit.

Anonymous said...

3:48, check your grammar if you gonna play in the bigs dawg.

Anonymous said...

Interesting they leave Jeff Goode’s name out of this too. Pure political BS.

Anonymous said...

Will Marshall Ramsey have to pay back his subsidized Paul Lacoste training?

Anonymous said...

Last I saw Nicholas Coughlin, this after the News were busted, he was working for Lynn at the AG.s office.

Anonymous said...

The more I see or hear Lynn the uglier she gets!

Anonymous said...

“Finally” did Clare inject that word? We know how you carry her water when it comes to Lynn.

Anonymous said...

Shad did not take the case of fraudulent federal funds to the federal attorney for the southern district because he didn't trust Mike Hurst.

Anonymous said...

@8:29
Get over yourself. This is a gossip blog, not an English Dissertation. You pretentious douche.

Anonymous said...

Likely it's cause Lynn doesn't want to mess her chances with the Republican Party by bringing Phil Bryant into the mix. She plays politics just as much as the next person. Honestly, I feel this deal is more so "clean-up" for getting busted with this...

Anonymous said...

It’s going to be interesting to see who fights back in this suit…..may be the only way we all get the entire story on just what is going on.

Anonymous said...

Re: 7:34 - Thanks for showing the USM volleyball facility was approved through proper IHL & university channels. Given very lax & wide discretionary uses of federal block grant funds, I now see how this happened. I'm sorry for my earlier post that questioned the integrity of Dr. Bennett & his management team.

Anonymous said...

7:53:

Both Webb and Harris are (were) associated with the Family Resource Center of North MS up here in Tupelo. Christi Webb is a retired professor who taught at Northeast CC before becoming director of the FRC. Don't know Amy Harris or her job title.....general counsel maybe?

Anonymous said...

I think that this mainly federal money that be must be returned to the US treasure. If the State does not get it back from the contractors then the people of Miss. pay it. Some but not much will gotten back. Standard answer will money is gone and do not have it. We are dealing with a lot of crooks but this is all about the get back money that in now gone. Sad.

Anonymous said...

All the MEDIA (every channel) this morning was focused on the Alabama fugitives. Really ?

Anonymous said...

Only Mississippi Today is talking about Jeff Good's non-profit, Soul City Hospitality, being sued here for $200,000.

Anonymous said...

946, yes the Alabama fugitives was national news and the local media was reporting it because it affected the state.

This post is now two days old, it is no longer news. Just because lots of keyboard experts want to continue talking about it does not make it 'news' (note the derivative - NEW); the items here were news yesterday. Today, it is now old news and the media does not continue to use their airtime for stuff that's already been told.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting reading. Stating the obvious, Favre and the million-dollar man definitely have the ability to pay the money back. I don't know any the rest of these people, but I'm skeptical any of them have even 50% of the money they got. No doubt it's been spent on fancy cars, boats, watches, and vacations.

Also, I'm not totally sure about this amount, but I imagine a civil defense firm requires a retainer of $5000 or more. I can imagine there's any insurance policy that would provide coverage for getting sued after taking federal funds, not doing what you promised to do, and then blowing it on frivolous items. Even if these people did what they promised to do, it would still be an outrageous ripoff of taxpayer funds. . .

Thanks to Kingfish for this excellent coverage. The public needs to be aware of this.

Anonymous said...

6:42

You are most likely correct that the lions share of the individuals don’t have assets sufficient to cover their take but…

The entities involved probably are covered by insurance policies and those policies might actually provide some coverages for the owners.

Remember that their David Lane? He stole money from all the HOAs to the tune of millions. Most hoas took it on the chin but some had insurance policies which specifically covered theft and paid out on the claims.

Brad Pigot will be tasked with finding those policies and trying to make any insurer pay out in this instance.

When Phil joins the party and his lobbying outfit is tagged I imagine he will have some funds to contribute.

And then there is the issue of joint and several liability - this is a common scheme and as a result each defendant could be liable for up to 1/2 the amount demanded.

Fun times to come in discovery

Anonymous said...

Shad is very desperate for a win it appears, and Lynn seems to have taken the bait. She would have been wiser to let this shake out a bit and keep the focus on Shad.



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