Below is a press release from the Mississipppi Department of Human Services:
The Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) today filed a motion to amend its civil complaint in ongoing litigation concerning TANF funds. The proposed First Amended Complaint attached to the motion brings original or amended claims against various parties alleged to have been responsible for or to have been recipients of misspent TANF funds.
MDHS is seeking to amend the complaint to include “all claims under the Mississippi Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (UFTA), arising out of the same transaction or occurrence as the principal claim.” This statute permits MDHS to recover funds from recipients to whom direct recipients of TANF funds may have transferred those funds.
Following months of discovery by MDHS legal counsel, the proposed amended complaint adds new defendants as parties, including:
- N3 Holdings
- JTS Enterprises
- USM Athletic Foundation
- Lobaki, Inc.
- Lobaki Foundation
- William Longwitz
- Jacob Black
- Garrig Shields
- Inside Capitol, LLC
- William, Weiss, Hester and Co., PLLC (an accounting firm)
Amending the complaint affords MDHS additional legal grounds to recoup the taxpayer funds that were used outside the intended scope of TANF to help Mississippi’s neediest residents. The additional defendants being added are alleged to have either received TANF funds for purposes which were not authorized under TANF or to have engaged in a conspiracy to award TANF funds for such unallowable purposes.
“I am appreciative of the leadership at the Warren, Washington, Issaquena, Sharkey Community Action Agency (WWISCAA) for their responsiveness to MDHS’ request to satisfy claims identified in the original complaint. Following repayment of $49,190 to MDHS, WWISCAA has been removed from the complaint,” stated Bob Anderson, Executive Director Mississippi Department of Human Services. “Additionally, claims against Brett Favre have been reduced by $1.1 million due to the repayment of those unallowable costs. This agency will continue to be receptive to offers from other parties simply to repay the TANF funds, which they should not have received.”
As in any civil lawsuit, as discovery continues, MDHS reserves the opportunity to amend the complaint further to include additional parties and additional claims.
“Governor Tate Reeves tasked me with correcting the path of MDHS,” said Bob Anderson, Executive Director of MDHS.
“As part of that process, MDHS has been working hard to restore trust and put in place numerous internal controls to ensure that misspending is not repeated in the future,” Anderson stated."The rest of the task involves recovering and returning to the taxpayers the millions of dollars in misspent funds which were intended to benefit Mississippi’s needy families. We continue that task with this motion to file an amended civil complaint.”
Suspected fraud can be reported to MDHS online any time by submitting the MDHS Fraud Tip Form at https://www.mdhs.ms.gov/report-fraud/, calling the Fraud Tip Line during normal business hours at 1-(800)-299-6905, or email at fraud@mdhs.ms.gov.
MDHS will not comment further on this case as this is an active litigation.
