Anna Wolfe
WJTV 12 News
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Past articles by Anna:
Attorneys drop hints that feds are eyeing former Gov. Phil Bryant in welfare investigation
Perpetrators in the Mississippi welfare scandal lawsuit are cooperating with federal prosecutors. High-profile officials confirm that a federal investigation into the misspending continues. Top defendants in the civil case have implored state prosecutors to pursue their boss, former Gov. Phil Bryant, who they say was responsible for much of the scandal. But federal prosecutors are […] → Read More
Phil Bryant asks court to throw out subpoena for Brett Favre pharma texts
Former Gov. Phil Bryant, whose administration saw the misspending of tens of millions of federal welfare funds, is again asking a judge to throw out a subpoena against him in the state’s ongoing civil case related to the scandal. A defendant in the civil case filed a subpoena in early October for a large swath […] → Read More
Nancy New defense: MDHS civil case not actually about recouping misspent welfare money
Nonprofit founder Nancy New and former welfare director John Davis, defendants in the state’s civil litigation over the misspending of millions of federal grant funds, have asked the court to stay the case until the criminal investigation concludes. Mississippi Department of Human Services, the agency that administers welfare programs and is bringing the suit, is […] → Read More
Former Gov. Phil Bryant subpoenaed again, this time for texts related to Brett Favre’s pharma project
While former Gov. Phil Bryant fights a subpoena within Mississippi’s civil suit over welfare misspending, another defense attorney is now requesting he turn over even more records related to NFL hall of famer Brett Favre’s concussion drug company and other welfare projects. The new subpoena, filed Friday, seeks communication between Bryant and Favre related to […] → Read More
Welfare defendant alleges Gov. Phil Bryant used federal funds to hurt political rival
Within Mississippi’s ever-unfolding welfare scandal, government officials didn’t just use federal funds to lavish their friends and family. They also allegedly leveraged the money to quell their political foes, according to a defendant in the case and another individual connected to a nonprofit within scheme. Christi Webb, director of the welfare-funded nonprofit Family Resource Center […] → Read More
Former Gov. Phil Bryant helped Brett Favre secure welfare funding for USM volleyball stadium, texts reveal
Text messages entered Monday into the state’s ongoing civil lawsuit over the welfare scandal reveal that former Gov. Phil Bryant pushed to make NFL legend Brett Favre’s volleyball idea a reality. The texts show that the then-governor even guided Favre on how to write a funding proposal so that it could be accepted by the […] → Read More
FBI asked Brett Favre just one question, his attorney says
Last week, NFL legend Brett Favre made headlines again when his attorney confirmed to NBC News that the FBI had questioned the former quarterback. Favre was the inspiration behind $8 million worth of purchases in an ongoing welfare scandal that the FBI began investigating in 2020. But the athlete’s exchange with federal agents, which took […] → Read More
Defendant: Gov. Tate Reeves should be target of welfare lawsuit — not in charge of it
An aggressive new filing in the state’s ongoing civil suit asks the court to look at whether Gov. Tate Reeves caused his fitness trainer Paul Lacoste, a defendant in the lawsuit, to receive improper welfare payments from the state and whether Reeves himself should be a defendant in the suit. → Read More
Gov. Tate Reeves inspired welfare payment targeted in civil suit, texts show
Mississippi’s former welfare director said he was acting on behalf of then-Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, text messages indicate, when he funneled $1.3 million into a fitness program that the state is now targeting in its civil lawsuit to recoup millions in misspent federal dollars. Reeves’ longtime personal trainer and buddy Paul Lacoste is a defendant […] → Read More
Former Gov. Phil Bryant subpoenaed for USM volleyball stadium documents
Nancy New’s attorney has filed a subpoena directly on former Gov. Phil Bryant for documents related to the use of federal welfare funds to build a volleyball stadium at his alma mater, University of Southern Mississippi — information the state has appeared intent on concealing. “We have no confidence that the state will follow through […] → Read More
Inside Mississippi’s false promise of putting the Family First
The news that Mississippi was revamping its foster care system had reached countless officials, churches and charities across the state before Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Dawn Beam realized: The plan was never going to take root. It was September of 2018, just weeks after Beam and then-First Lady Deborah Bryant launched the Family First Initiative […] → Read More
State subpoena targets Gov. Bryant’s communication with USM Athletic Foundation
NEW YORK (AP) — Bank of America’s second quarter profits fell 32%, the latest major U.S. bank to report a dip in earnings after a strong 2021. A better reflection of performance at the country’s second largest bank this quarter was revenue, which increased from $21.5 billion, to $22.7 billion year over year, largely due […] → Read More
State subpoena targets Gov. Bryant’s communication with USM Athletic Foundation
Attorneys are wrangling Mississippi’s former governor into the welfare department’s massive civil lawsuit, which one attorney called a “no-holds-barred death match.” The attorney for the state agency is subpoenaing the University of Southern Mississippi Athletic Foundation for any of its communication with former Gov. Phil Bryant and his wife Deborah Bryant. The Mississippi Department of […] → Read More
Gov. Phil Bryant directed $1.1 million welfare payment to Brett Favre, defendant says
Former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant instructed his wife’s friend — whose nonprofit was receiving millions in subgrants from the welfare department he oversaw — to pay NFL legend Brett Favre $1.1 million, according to a new court filing. Nancy New alleges Bryant directed this and other spending, resulting in a massive scandal and what officials […] → Read More
Former Gov. Phil Bryant should be sued over misspent welfare funds, civil defendant argues to court
A civil defendant in Mississippi’s massive welfare misspending scandal is arguing that if he’s being sued, so should former Gov. Phil Bryant. That is just one explosive nugget included in a Friday court filing from Austin Smith, nephew to the now disgraced former welfare director John Davis and a former contractor of Nancy New’s nonprofit. […] → Read More
Former auditors question whether Shad White was too close to investigate Phil Bryant
Three former state auditors say they would have recused themselves or limited their involvement in the investigation into Mississippi’s welfare fraud scandal to avoid perceptions of conflict of interest due to current auditor Shad White’s close relationship with former Gov. Phil Bryant. White and his office identified the misspending and possible theft of tens of […] → Read More
Nancy and Zach New plead guilty to bribery and fraud in state welfare case
Nancy New, a once prominent private school and nonprofit founder, and her son Zach New pleaded guilty to state criminal charges in Mississippi’s sprawling welfare scandal on Friday. The 69-year-old former educator is pleading guilty to four counts of bribing a public official, two counts of fraud against the government, five counts of wire fraud […] → Read More
Nancy and Zach New plead guilty to federal charges in private school scheme
Nancy New and her son Zach New reached deals Wednesday to plead guilty in a federal case involving $4 million in public school dollars prosecutors say they bilked for their private school. New, owner of the now-defunct New Summit School, a once popular private school that served students with special needs, pleaded guilty to one […] → Read More
Phil Bryant discusses his nephew, favored welfare vendors, failures and successes
Before publishing its investigative series “The Backchannel,” which reveals Phil Bryant’s entanglement with Mississippi’s welfare scandal, Mississippi Today sat down with the former governor to discuss his leadership in the state’s safety net programs. We initially published the portion of the interview in which Bryant discussed the stock offers he received from retired NFL quarterback […] → Read More
NAACP asks U.S. Attorney General to investigate former Gov. Phil Bryant after Mississippi Today series
Mississippi Today’s “The Backchannel” series, which examines former Gov. Phil Bryant’s involvement in what officials have called the largest public embezzlement scheme in state history, is renewing calls for a federal investigation. NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on April 7, three days after the beginning […] → Read More