The Million Dollar SCAM! Wrestler Son of WWE legend Ted DiBiase is charged over welfare fraud ‘that saw him claim huge sums for social services he never provided’ in scandal that has seen Brett Favre face civil lawsuit

• The son of WWE legend The Million Dollar Man has been criminally charged in the Mississippi welfare scam investigation
• The investigation has also seen the state’s attorney general launch a lawsuit against NFL great Brett Favre, who has not been criminally charged
• Ted DiBiase Jr. is accused of receiving ‘sham contracts’ from the state for welfare programs that he did not provide

Businesses run by former WWE star Ted DiBiase Jr. were given ‘sham contracts’ and squandered millions of dollars of welfare money that was meant for some of the neediest people in the country, federal prosecutors say. 

DiBiase Jr., 40, who was indicted this week, is accused of receiving $3 million for welfare purposes that he never intended to provide, and appeared in court in Jackson, Mississippi, on Thursday. 

The professional wrestler was handcuffed with his ankle’s shackled during the hearing. ‘Jesus loves you, brother. God bless you, man,’ DiBaise Jr. told WAPT as he left court. 

The station also reported that the suspect tested positive for marijuana and Adderall on the day of his court appearance which his lawyers attributed to a CBD gummy and prescription medication for the wrestler’s ADHD diagnosis. 

He’s accused of using the money to buy a car, a boat and for a down payment on a home valued at $1.7 million. If found guilty on all charges, he could face 175 years in prison.  

Professional wrestler Ted DiBiase Jr., 40, shown here while working for the WWE is facing criminal charges in Mississippi after being accused of defrauding a welfare program

DiBiase’s father the Million Dollar Man, pictured left, alongside Andre the Giant and the wrestler Virgil, was known for his appearances in the WWE in the 1980s 

The scandal is the latest development in the massive investigation into wealthy and well-connected people in Mississippi, including NFL legend Brett Favre, the NFL icon has not been criminally charged in the case

DiBiase Jr. had a career with the company in his own-right between 2007 and 2013

The scandal is the latest development in the massive investigation into wealthy and well-connected people in Mississippi, including NFL legend Brett Favre, receiving contracts from the state Department of Human Services from 2016 to 2019.

DiBiase Jr. is the son of WWE legend The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase who was one of the professional wrestling behemoth’s major attractions during the 1980s, known for his catchphrase: ‘Everybody has a price.’

DiBiase Jr. had a career with the company in his own-right between 2007 and 2013. 

Favre is not facing criminal charges in the case but is among more than three dozen defendants in a civil lawsuit that the current Human Services director filed to try to recover some of the welfare money from.

The former quarterback has said that he did not know that the money was intended for welfare recipients and paid back $1.1 million that was paid to him between 2017 and 2018.  

The indictment accuses DiBiase Jr. and co-conspirators, including former Mississippi Department of Human Services director John Davis, of fraudulently obtaining federal money and using it for their own benefit. 

According to the indictment, Davis directed funds from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to two nonprofit organizations — Family Resource Center of North Mississippi Inc. and Mississippi Community Education Center. 

Davis directed the organizations’ directors to award contracts in 2017 and 2018 to DiBiase’s companies, Priceless Ventures LLC and Familiae Orientem LLC, for social services that the companies did not provide, the indictment said. 

‘DiBiase allegedly used these federal funds to buy a vehicle and a boat, and for the down payment on the purchase of a house, among other expenditures,’ the Justice Department said in a news release Thursday. 

DiBiase is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, six counts of wire fraud, two counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and four counts of money laundering.

Farve was the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers for the majority of his career 

DiBiase Jr., pictured alongside his tag team partner Cody Rhodes during his  time in the WWE

Members of the DiBiase family had earlier been named in a lawsuit filed in October 2022 by the state of Mississippi in an attempt to retrieve some of the money. 

If convicted on criminal charges, he would face up to five years in prison for the conspiracy count, up to 20 years for each wire fraud count and up to 10 years for each count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and for each count of money laundering, the Justice Department said.

Davis pleaded guilty last year to charges tied to welfare misspending in state’s largest public corruption case.

DiBiase’s brother, Brett, who is also a wrestler, has pleaded guilty to state and federal charges tied to the case.

Mississippi has ranked among the poorest states in the U.S. for decades, but only a fraction of its federal welfare money has been going toward direct aid to families. 

Instead, the Mississippi Department of Human Services allowed well-connected people to fritter away tens of millions of welfare dollars from 2016 to 2019, according to the state auditor and state and federal prosecutors.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families money helped pay for pet projects of the wealthy, including $5 million for a volleyball arena that Favre supported at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi Auditor Shad White said. Favre’s daughter played volleyball at the school starting in 2017. 

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