A Mississippi judge removes 1 of Brett Favre’s lawyers in a civil case over misspent welfare money
JACKSON, Madam. — A Mississippi judge has fired one of the attorneys representing retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre in a civil lawsuit in the state. The case centers on the recovery of Social Security money that was meant to help the nation’s poorest but instead went to projects supported by the wealthy and well-connected.
Favre continues to be represented by other attorneys in the case brought against him and more than three dozen other individuals, groups and companies by the Mississippi Department of Human Services in 2022.
Hinds County Judge Faye Peterson wrote in her eviction order Thursday that one of Favre’s New York-based attorneys, Daniel Koevary, had violated Mississippi’s rules of civil procedure by repeatedly demanding hearings “on matters that have nothing to do with this Court and are not within the jurisdiction of this Court to decide.” Peterson also wrote that she called the conduct “an attempt to sow discord.”
The Associated Press sent emails to Koevary on Friday and Monday asking for comment on Peterson’s decision.
Mississippi State Auditor Shad White said in 2020 that Favre, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame who lives in Mississippi, was wrongly fined $1.1 million in speaking fees from a nonprofit that disbursed welfare money with approval from the Mississippi Department of Human Services. The welfare money was intended for a volleyball arena at the University of Southern Mississippi. Favre agreed to lead fundraising efforts for the facility at his alma mater, where his daughter began playing on the volleyball team in 2017.
Favre paid back $500,000 to the state in May 2020 and $600,000 in October 2021, White said in a February court document that Favre still owes $729,790 because interest induced growth of the original amount he owed.
No criminal charges are being filed against Favre. Former Director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services John Davis and others have confessed their guilt to the misuse of money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
White said more than $77 million in welfare benefits was wasted between 2016 and 2019, including $160,000 in drug rehabilitation for a former professional wrestler and thousands of dollars in airfare and hotel stays for Davis, who led the Department of Human Services during those years.