Fraud and false statements
This Sept. 16, 2022 file photo shows the Wellness Center at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Miss. In a court filing on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Human Services demanded that retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre and the University of Southern Mississippi repay millions of dollars of welfare money that went toward building the volleyball facility. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Mississippi revises demands on Favre in welfare lawsuit

By Emily Wagster Pettus Dec. 05, 2022 01:31 PM EST

FILE - Former NFL football quarterback Brett Favre speaks with reporters prior to his induction to the Mississippi Hall of Fame in Jackson, Miss., on Aug. 1, 2015. Favre is asking to be removed from a civil lawsuit in Mississippi that seeks to recover millions of dollars in misspent welfare money that was intended to help some of the poorest people in the U.S. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
Favre asks to be dismissed from Mississippi welfare lawsuit

By Emily Wagster Pettus Nov. 28, 2022 07:09 PM EST

FILE - Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre speaks with reporters prior to his induction to the Mississippi Hall of Fame in Jackson, Miss., Saturday, Aug. 1, 2015. Mississippi's largest public corruption case in state history, in which tens of millions of dollars earmarked for needy families was misspent, involves a number of sports figures with ties to the state — including NFL royalty Brett Favre and a famous former pro wrestler. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
Brett Favre says he's 'unjustly smeared' in welfare case

By Emily Wagster Pettus Oct. 11, 2022 04:03 PM EDT

FILE - In this March 27, 2010, file photo, WWE Superstar Ted DiBiase Jr., left, with brother Brett DiBiase, right, induct their father "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase into the 2010 WWE Hall of Fame at the Ceremony in Phoenix, Ariz. Mississippi’s largest public corruption case in state history involves tens of millions of misspent dollars earmarked for needy families. The civil lawsuit involves a number of sports figures with ties to the state, including Ted DiBiase and sons Teddy and Brett. (Rick Scuteri/AP Images for WWE, File)
EXPLAINER: Favre, other sports figures in welfare fraud case

By Erica Hunzinger Oct. 03, 2022 02:10 PM EDT

FILE - Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre speaks to the media in Jackson, Miss., Oct. 17, 2018. The governor of Mississippi in 2017 was “on board” with a plan for a nonprofit group to pay Brett Favre more than $1 million in welfare grant money so the retired NFL quarterback could help fund a university volleyball facility, according to a text messages between Favre and the director of the nonprofit in court documents filed Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
Texts: Favre also sought welfare money for football facility

By Emily Wagster Pettus Sep. 25, 2022 04:55 PM EDT

FILE - Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre speaks to the media in Jackson, Miss., Oct. 17, 2018. The governor of Mississippi in 2017 was “on board” with a plan for a nonprofit group to pay Brett Favre more than $1 million in welfare grant money so the retired NFL quarterback could help fund a university volleyball facility, according to a text messages between Favre and the director of the nonprofit in court documents filed Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
Texts: Mississippi ex-governor knew of Favre welfare money

By Emily Wagster Pettus Sep. 14, 2022 12:30 PM EDT

FILE - A New England Patriots Super Bowl LI ring is displayed at the Super Bowl Rings exhibit in Indianapolis, March 1, 2018. A New Jersey man who posed as a former New England Patriots player in order to buy and sell Super Bowl rings that he claimed were gifts to Tom Brady's family has been sentenced to three years in federal prison. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan, File)
New Jersey man sentenced for Tom Brady Super Bowl ring fraud

Aug. 29, 2022 07:02 PM EDT

FILE - Gov. Phil Bryant speaks about his legacy following a life of public service in his office at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss., on Jan. 8, 2020. A defendant in a Mississippi welfare fraud case said in a court document she directed $1.1 million in welfare money to former NFL star Brett Favre at the direction of Bryant. Mississippi news outlets report that the accusation, which Bryant denies, is in a filing on behalf of defendant Nancy New, who, with her son, once ran a nonprofit group and an education company in Mississippi. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
Defendant: Ex-governor ordered payments to NFL's Brett Favre

Jul. 13, 2022 07:20 PM EDT

Nancy New, who with her son, Zachary, ran a private education company in Mississippi, pleaded guilty to state charges of misusing public money that was intended to help some of the poorest people in the nation, in Hinds County Circuit Court, Tuesday, April 26, 2022, in Jackson. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Mississippi sues Favre, wrestlers, over welfare misspending

By Emily Wagster Pettus May. 09, 2022 06:19 PM EDT

Pro football investor pleads guilty in cryptocurrency scheme

Apr. 25, 2022 07:33 PM EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — A businessman who was one of the early investors in a failed professional football league called the Alliance of American Football pleaded guilty...

FILE - New England Patriots' Tom Brady reacts during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl 51 football game between the Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, in Houston. Scott Spina Jr., a New Jersey man who posed as a former Patriots player in order to buy and sell Super Bowl rings that he claimed were gifts to Brady's family, has pleaded guilty to fraud Tuesday, Feb 1, 2022, in Santa Ana, Calif., federal court. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
New Jersey man pleads guilty in Brady Super Bowl ring scam

Feb. 02, 2022 07:01 PM EST

La. woman accused of defrauding NFL fund for ex-players

Jan. 20, 2022 07:31 PM EST
GRETNA, La. (AP) — A woman who had a son with former NFL defensive lineman Norman Hand was arrested Thursday on allegations of defrauding a healthcare fund for...

Man to plead guilty in Tom Brady Super Bowl ring fraud

Dec. 20, 2021 09:18 PM EST
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A New Jersey man who posed as a former New England Patriots player in order to buy and sell Super Bowl rings that he claimed were gifts to Tom...

Ex-NFL player Bellamy gets 3 years for COVID relief fraud

Dec. 13, 2021 02:40 PM EST
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Former NFL player Josh Bellamy has been sentenced to three years and one month in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining over $1.2 million in...

Former NFL player guilty of ID theft, COVID-19 relief fraud

Oct. 20, 2021 04:07 PM EDT
MIAMI (AP) — A former NFL wide receiver and South Florida native has pleaded guilty to stealing identities to fraudulently obtain coronavirus-related...

FILE - In this Feb. 22, 2000, file photo, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tamarick Vanover, center, is guided towards a waiting car outside the Federal Courthouse in Kansas City, Mo. Former NFL players Clinton Portis, Tamarick Vanover and Robert McCune pleaded guilty for their roles in a nationwide healthcare fraud scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021. (AP Photo/Cliff Schiappa, File)
Ex-NFL players plead guilty to health care fraud scheme

By Stephen Whyno Sep. 07, 2021 05:42 PM EDT

FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2017, file photo, Washington Redskins radio analyst and former running back Clinton Portis watches from the sideline during the second half of an NFL preseason football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Fla. Former NFL players Clinton Portis, Tamarick Vanover and Robert McCune pleaded guilty for their roles in a nationwide healthcare fraud scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021.. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
Washington Redskins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 8/31/2017

Sep. 07, 2021 05:15 PM EDT

FILE - In this Wednesday, July 12, 2017, file photo, New Orleans Saints super fan Jarrius "J.J." Robertson, right, accepts the Jimmy V perseverance award with his parents, from left, Patricia Hoyal and Jordy Robertson at the ESPYS at the Microsoft Theater on in Los Angeles. Jordy Robertson, whose seriously ill son Jarrius gained fame in New Orleans for his devotion to the Saints football team, was sentenced to eight years in prison Tuesday, May 11, 2021, for drug trafficking and for fraudulently capitalizing on his son's illness with a phony charity. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
8 years for dad of Saints 'super fan' in charity, drug case

By Kevin Mcgill May. 11, 2021 06:39 PM EDT

FILE - In this file photo dated Wednesday, April 21, 2021, a protest banner against the proposed Super League is seen outside Liverpool's Anfield Stadium after the collapse of English involvement in the proposed new league, Liverpool, England. The aborted plan to create a breakaway Super League with 12 of the biggest clubs in European soccer was perhaps the most egregious example of a sporting venture that quickly fell flat on its face. (AP Photo/Jon Super, FILE)
Super League among sporting ventures that went wrong

By Steve Douglas And Ken Maguire Apr. 22, 2021 12:48 PM EDT

Feds: 2 men breached NFL, NBA players' social media accounts

By David Porter Sep. 30, 2020 03:19 PM EDT
A Louisiana man and a Florida man allegedly gained access to professional athletes’ social media accounts and either sold the information or used it to extort...