Ted DiBIase Jr.’s legal troubles show no sign of slowing as the former WWE star has officially been charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, fraud, and theft.
Back in May of 2022, WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase and his sons Ted DiBiase Jr. and Brett DiBiase were among 38 names in a civil lawsuit seeking to reclaim a total of $24 million dollars which was meant to be used to tackle poverty in Mississippi. NFL legend Brett Favre was also listed among the names.
It is alleged that Nancy New and her son Zack New used their non-profit to illegally move “tens of millions” of dollars into other non-profits. Then Director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, John Davis befriended and then promoted DiBiase Jr. within the department, to receive payment from two of New’s non-profits to the tune of $3 million.
The money was intended to ““address the multiple needs of inner-city youth” despite DiBiase Jr. holding no qualifications to provide the TNAF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) services.
At the time, Brett DiBiase was the only one to face criminal charges and pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States in U.S. District Court earlier in 2023. Brett had already pleaded guilty to other charges related to the scandal back in late 2020.
Ted DiBiase Jr. Faces Multiple Criminal Charges As Mississippi Welfare Fraud Investigation Continues
Now, the United States Department of Justice has sent a press release stating that Ted DiBiase Jr. has officially been criminally charged. The press release reads as follows, detailing multiple counts of conspiracy to commit fraud, wire fraud, theft, and money laundering. The maximum penalties for each count could see the former WWE star land in prison for decades if convicted.
A federal indictment was unsealed today in Mississippi charging a former professional wrestler with misappropriating millions of dollars in federal safety-net funds intended for needy families and low-income individuals in Mississippi.
According to court documents, Theodore Marvin DiBiase Jr., 40, of Madison, along with co-conspirators John Davis, Christi Webb, Nancy New, and others, are alleged to have fraudulently obtained federal funds – including from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program – that they misappropriated for their own personal use and benefit.
Davis was the executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS). As part of the alleged scheme, after federal funds were issued to MDHS, Davis directed MDHS to subgrant the funds to two nonprofit organizations, Family Resource Center of North Mississippi Inc. (FRC) and Mississippi Community Education Center (MCEC), which were operated by Webb and New, respectively. Davis then allegedly directed Webb and New to award sham contracts to various individuals and entities purportedly for the delivery of social services, including at least five sham contracts that were awarded to DiBiase’s companies, Priceless Ventures LLC and Familiae Orientem LLC.
As further alleged in the indictment, under these sham contracts, FRC and MCEC provided millions of dollars in federal funds from MDHS to DiBiase and his companies for social services that DiBiase did not provide and did not intend to provide. 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.
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. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy count, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count, and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and for each count of money laundering.
Ted DiBiase Jr. signed with WWE in 2006 and remained with the company until 2013. He became a two-time tag team champion alongside Cody Rhodes as the two were both part of the Randy Orton-led group Legacy.