Ted DiBiase Sued By Mississippi Department Of Human Services

WWE Hall Of Famer Ted DiBiase and his sons former WWE talent Ted DiBiase Jr. and Brett DiBiase have been named in a lawsuit filed by the Mississippi Department of Human Services along with 35 other people and several companies as the department looks to recover $24 million in federal funds that were intended to address poverty in the state, WLOX have reported. 

Nancy New and her son Zach New ran two nonprofit organisations which received tens of millions of dollars from contracts with the Mississippi Department of Human Services and they funnelled much of that money to other nonprofits and contractors. Nancy New and her son previously pleaded guilty to several charges of bribery and fraud related to their use of the funds. 

John Davis, who was the Mississippi Department of Human Services at the time, used federal funds from a programme called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to fund the nonprofits ran by Nancy and Zach New.

Ted DiBiase Jr. was closely involved with the Mississippi Department of Human Services and Davis promoted the former WWE talent within the department and arranged for him and his companies to receive funds from the aforementioned nonprofits. DiBiase Jr. received over $3 million to 'address the multiple needs of inner-city youth', something which he wasn't qualified to do, the lawsuit alleges. He also allegedly received two payments of $700,000 for services he did not provide.

Ted DiBiase Jr. urged Davis to provide $1.7 million in anti-poverty funds to his father's Heart of David ministries and the Mississippi Department of Human Services contracted 'The Million Dollar Man' to provide services for people in need, according to the lawsuit. It was also stated the ministries 'substantially ignored' the purposes of the funds, while DiBiase used some of the funds for personal expenses. A $250,000 lump sum was also paid to DiBiase for motivational speaking. When DiBiase received that cheque, he emailed his two sons, writing: "Look what I got today!", according to the lawsuit. 

Brett, meanwhile, received two payments totalling $600,000 dollars to provide anti-poverty services but never did so. The nonprofit organisations also paid for him to go to rehab and he was paid as a contractor while he was in rehab. Brett previously pleaded guilty to fraud in 2020. 

The Mississippi Department of Human Services is suing for the following amounts: 

• Ted DiBiase - $1,971,223
• Heart of David Ministries - $1,721,223
• Ted DiBiase Jr. - $2,897,487
• Brett DiBiase - $824,258