Ted DiBiase Sr. & Jr., Brett DiBiase Named In Audit of Mississippi DHS Scandal

The audit of the Mississippi Department of Human Services scandal is complete, and findings name all three wrestlers from the DiBiase family among questionable spendings. It w3as announced yesterday that the audit was completed following an indictment of Brett DiBiase and others in what has been called the largest case of embezzlement in the history of the state of Mississippi.

The auditor’s office questioned the spending of over $98 million in welfare grants that were funneled to groups like Mississippi Community Education Center (MCEC) and the Family Resource Center of North Mississippi (FRC), both of which were non-profits. Of that number, a breathtaking $94 million has been “questioned” which means that “auditors either saw clear misspending or could not verify the money had been lawfully spent.”

Listed among the many questioned items was the following line:

• MCEC and FRC paid large sums to wrestlers Ted Dibiase, Ted Dibiase, Jr., and Brett Dibiase for work that was not performed, for unreasonable travel costs, or with little proof the programs helped the needy.

It has been reported that DiBiase Sr.’s Heart of David Ministries received $2.1 million dollars that was reported by the religious non-profit as being used for “general church speaking engagements, religious conferences, school assemblies, and wrestling events.” That money was given after Brett was hired as the deputy administrator at the Mississippi Department of Human Services. It was also reported that DiBiase Jr. was paid by the Mississippi Community Education Center to teach classes, specifically training to human services employees.

“This completed audit of DHS for the previous year shows the most egregious misspending my staff have seen in their careers at the Office of the State Auditor,” said State Auditor Shad White. “When you read this one-hundred-plus page audit, you will see that, if there was a way to misspend money, it seems DHS leadership or their grantees thought of it and tried it.”

Auditors have recommended current DHS leadership take steps to remedy these problems and suggested that DHS conduct an internal investigation into current and former DHS staff who may have played a role in the fraud. The report has been forwarded to the federal government, who will determine the consequences for DHS that could include cuts to future grants from the federal government or penalties.

The criminal investigation is continuing. Of the three DiBiases, only Brett has been indicted on anything.