Text messages released in a civil lawsuit over a multimillion-dollar welfare scam reveal that former former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant helped retired NFL player Brett Favre secure welfare funds for his $5 million volleyball stadium at the University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi Today reports. Bryant has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged in the fraud, but his wife’s friend, Mississippi Community Education Center founder Nancy New, pleaded guilty to 13 felony counts of bribery, fraud and racketeering related to the plot in which an estimated $77 million in welfare funds was stolen or misappropriated. Welfare agency director John Davis awaits trial in connection with the scheme. The texts show how Bryant, Favre, New, and Davis worked together to redistribute millions for the volleyball stadium. “Just left Brett Favre. Can we help him with his project,” Bryant texted New, whose nonprofit was tasked with spending millions in federal welfare funds, in July 2019. In another recorded exchange in August 2017, Favre asked New if there was “anyway the media could find out” if the nonprofit paid him, to which New said no. The next day, New shared with the NFL legend that the governor was on board with the plan, texting, “We will get this done!” Favre’s daughter played volleyball at USM at the time of the exchange, but transferred to Louisiana State University last month, according to The Advocate.
