JACKSON, Miss. (NewsNation) — Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre will answer questions under oath about the misspending of federal welfare money in Mississippi.
Favre will give sworn testimony on Oct. 26 at a hotel in Hattiesburg, according to a notice of deposition filed Monday in Hinds County Circuit Court by attorneys for Mississippi’s Department of Human Services.
Instead of going to needy families, public money was allegedly used to fund pet projects Favre and other well-connected people supported.
Mississippi Auditor Shade White said about $5 million helped fund a volleyball arena that Favre supported at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. Another $1.7 million went to the development of a concussion treatment drug, a project Favre supported.
“We’ve got Mr. Brett Farve — America’s sweetheart, a Super Bowl winner, packers quarterback, Vikings quarterback, New York Jets quarterback — in the limelight of this, but this time, not for football, and not for his commercials on Wrangler,” said Manny Serra-Jovenich of The Rossen Law Firm.
Farve is among more than three dozen defendants in a lawsuit the current Mississippi Human Services director filed to recover some of the welfare money.
“My office looks forward to hearing Mr. Favre’s answers under oath about what happened to Mississippi’s welfare dollars,” White said.
Favre has denied wrongdoing, sued the state auditor who investigated the misspending for defamation and said he paid back misspent welfare funds.
“Should there be any testimony that is gathered in this deposition that is incriminating, and the state wants to take action, then we could be looking at some form of an allegation,” Serra-Jovenich said.
No criminal charges have been brought against Favre, although a former department director and other people have pleaded guilty to their part in the misspending. Favre has asked the Hinds County Circuit Court and the Mississippi Supreme Court to remove him as a defendant in the civil lawsuit, but both requests were denied.
“So what the sometimes you see when there’s someone of fame in a case, you’ll see a judge issue a protective order, or you’ll have the parties stipulate to protective order to allow for some secrecy, or I wouldn’t want to say secrecy, some protection from the public eye to make sure this doesn’t become a dog and pony show,” said Serra-Jovenich.
The deposition will be conducted by oral examination before a court reporter and may be video-recorded. A confidentiality order approved by the court would keep all of the testimony private for at least 30 days after its completion date, court records show.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.