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ESPN Staff Writer- Anthony Olivieri is a staff writer for ESPN. He has a degree in communications with a concentration in journalism from Marist College. He's been with ESPN since 2012.
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ESPN Senior Writer- Xuan Thai is a senior writer and producer in ESPN's investigative and enterprise unit. She was previously deputy bureau chief of the south region for NBC News.
Brett Favre's former business associate pleaded guilty to wire fraud in federal court on Wednesday, admitting that he used Mississippi welfare money his company received for concussion research to pay off gambling and other debts, according to court filings.
Biomedical researcher Jacob VanLandingham pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi to one count of wire fraud for using $1.9 million that his company, Prevacus, received in government funds to "unlawfully enrich himself," according to the filings. Wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He was released on bond.
VanLandingham's lawyer, Thomas Marshall Findley, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. VanLandingham previously told ESPN in a 2022 interview, "I had no idea this was welfare money, and I've always been an upstanding person when it comes to research."
Documents show Favre invested more than $800,000 of his own money in Prevacus and lobbied government officials, including former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, for funding for the company. Favre was the top investor in Prevacus, according to a civil lawsuit filed by the state in May 2022 against Favre, VanLandingham and Prevacus, among others.
The state's lawsuit seeks to recoup misappropriated funds in what is the largest case of public fraud in state history. At least $77 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds, earmarked for poor families, were misspent, according to a Mississippi state audit.
Eight people have been indicted, six of whom have pleaded guilty for their involvement, including Mississippi's former welfare director and the head of a nonprofit organization.
Favre, a Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback who played in the NFL for 20 seasons, has not been criminally charged and has denied wrongdoing. A spokesperson for Favre did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Favre remains a defendant in the civil lawsuit. At the heart of the dispute is a volleyball facility built in 2019 at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi. Text messages made public in legal filings show he pushed state officials for funding during the time his daughter was on the team. The university's athletic foundation received $5 million in welfare funds. Favre donated $1.4 million of his own money to construct the facility.