A federal jury acquitted former WWE wrestler Ted DiBiase Jr. on all 13 counts in his Mississippi welfare fraud trial on March 20, 2026, ending a seven-year cloud over the 43-year-old and closing the only trial to emerge from the state’s massive misspending scandal. Jurors in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi deliberated for roughly four hours before finding him not guilty of conspiracy, wire fraud, theft of federal funds, and money laundering. The charges together carried a potential sentence of more than 160 years.
What DiBiase Was Charged With
A federal grand jury indicted DiBiase on April 20, 2023, on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 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.1U.S. Department of Justice. Former Professional Wrestler Charged With Theft of Millions of Dollars in Federal Funds Intended for Needy
Prosecutors alleged that between June 2017 and June 2019, DiBiase received roughly $2.9 million through five contracts awarded to two companies he controlled, Priceless Ventures LLC and Familiae Orientem LLC, by the Family Resource Center of North Mississippi and the Mississippi Community Education Center. The government’s theory was that the contracts were shams for social services DiBiase “did not provide and did not intend to provide,” and that the money paid for a home, a boat, a truck, and other personal items.1U.S. Department of Justice. Former Professional Wrestler Charged With Theft of Millions of Dollars in Federal Funds Intended for Needy DiBiase pleaded not guilty and chose a jury trial, the only defendant in the scandal to do so.
The Prosecution’s Case
The government leaned on financial records and cooperating witnesses. FBI forensic accountant Matthew Aukerman testified that he traced 29 payments totaling about $2.9 million into DiBiase’s accounts by reviewing more than a dozen bank accounts.2WLBT. Ted DiBiase Jr. Spent Welfare Money on $1.4 Million Home, Boat, Tractor, Prosecutors Say The change in DiBiase’s finances was stark: from December 2013 to June 2017, his total deposits ran about $424,000; from June 2017 to August 2019, deposits reached nearly $3.9 million.
Prosecutors said DiBiase used the money to buy a $1.4 million home in Madison County, a $55,000 pontoon boat, a $34,000 tractor, and a $40,000 truck, and to build an investment account exceeding $700,000.3WAPT. Ted DiBiase Jr. Conspiracy Trial Closing Arguments In closing, prosecutor Adrienne Rosen called him a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” who became an “instant millionaire” on May 17, 2018, after depositing two $500,000 checks in a single day.4Clarion Ledger. Ted DiBiase Jr. Welfare Fraud Trial Closing Arguments
Cooperating witnesses filled in the story around the money. John Davis, the former Mississippi Department of Human Services director already serving a 32-year state sentence, testified that he knew DiBiase was “not able to perform the duties outlined in the contracts” but continued directing funds to him anyway.2WLBT. Ted DiBiase Jr. Spent Welfare Money on $1.4 Million Home, Boat, Tractor, Prosecutors Say Christi Webb, the former Family Resource Center head who had pleaded guilty to federal theft, said Davis told her to “fund Teddy” and drafted the contracts himself. Webb testified that her organization had no need for DiBiase’s services and that his only tangible deliverable was a list of food pantries she already had, which she “threw in the garbage can.” When she tried to stop paying him in 2019, she said, Davis retaliated by slashing her grants, telling her, “You drew a line in the sand when you refused to fund Teddy.”5Mississippi Free Press. Ted DiBiase Jr. Delivered One List and Little Else in Exchange for Millions in Welfare Funds, Witnesses Testify Nancy New, who ran the Mississippi Community Education Center and had also pleaded guilty, testified that she saw no benefit to her organization from DiBiase’s contracts and that for several of them the exhibit outlining specific services was never attached.
The Defense
Lead defense attorney Scott Gilbert argued that DiBiase did not orchestrate the scheme, did not solicit the money, and did not know the funds were tainted. Gilbert portrayed Davis as a “magisterial, mercurial Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” who used unchecked authority to hand-pick young entrepreneurs for lucrative, loosely defined positions.6Mississippi Free Press. Ted DiBiase Jr. Found Not Guilty of Crimes Over Millions in Mississippi Welfare Funds MDHS, the defense said, was in chaos driven by a push to privatize services, and DiBiase’s irregular employment was an artifact of that dysfunction rather than proof of fraud.
Defense witnesses tried to show that DiBiase actually worked. Software developer Kevin McLendon testified that DiBiase spent four to six months developing a health app called “Get Fit Mississippi” for MDHS. Consultant Michael Theriot said DiBiase’s use of LLCs to receive contract payments was standard business practice.6Mississippi Free Press. Ted DiBiase Jr. Found Not Guilty of Crimes Over Millions in Mississippi Welfare Funds Gilbert also called witnesses who had worked with Davis in similar arrangements to show that DiBiase was one of several young men Davis placed into vaguely defined but well-paid roles.
Some defense evidence never reached the jury. Judge Carlton Reeves excluded recordings of DiBiase discussing the “Families First Mississippi” program because the defense could not properly authenticate them, and blocked additional defense videos as “unfairly prejudicial” with “breezy, unverifiable implications.”7WLBT. DiBiase Trial: Witnesses Say He Did No Work to Earn More Than $3.5 Million in Welfare Contracts
In closing, Gilbert asked jurors whether the government had presented “reliable evidence” or “a really crappy example of human behavior,” and pressed the point: “Why show up and work so much if you’re running a scam?”4Clarion Ledger. Ted DiBiase Jr. Welfare Fraud Trial Closing Arguments
The Jury Question and Verdict
About three hours into deliberations, jurors sent Judge Reeves a note that telegraphed where they were headed. They asked whether “obtained by fraud” meant “the defendant himself committed fraud” or “that the money he received was deemed fraudulent by acts of others regardless of the defendant’s knowledge of fraudulent transfer of funds.”8WLBT. I’m Going to Live Again: Ted DiBiase Jr. Found Not Guilty on All 13 Counts Gilbert later said the question gave him confidence an acquittal was coming.
Roughly an hour later, the jury returned not guilty verdicts on all 13 counts. DiBiase began crying as the clerk read the first count and was visibly weeping by the seventh. When the reading ended, he embraced his wife Kristen and his brother Brett.9Mississippi Today. Ex-Wrestler Not Guilty in Welfare Trial
Outside the courthouse, DiBiase told reporters, “I’m going to live again. I’m going to continue to serve people because that really is who I am. I do care about every Mississippian.” He added: “To all the doubters or haters or people that have maybe had false information and not all the information, I forgive you, and I love you too.”10Clarion Ledger. Ted DiBiase Jr. Found Not Guilty in Mississippi Welfare Fraud Trial Asked what he would do next, he said he would probably go cut his grass and spend time with his family.8WLBT. I’m Going to Live Again: Ted DiBiase Jr. Found Not Guilty on All 13 Counts
State Auditor Shad White said he was disappointed but noted “nothing changes the fact that seven people have already pleaded guilty to state or federal charges because of the welfare scandal.” White said he hoped civil litigation could still recover misspent funds so “hard-working taxpayers can see some accountability.”11WJTV. Ted DiBiase Jr. Acquitted in Mississippi Welfare Fraud Case
What the Acquittal Does Not End
The verdict cleared DiBiase of criminal liability. It did not resolve the civil side of the case. The state auditor’s office had served him a civil demand for $3.903 million, part of tens of millions in civil demands issued against dozens of defendants to recover misspent welfare money.12Mississippi Office of the State Auditor. Auditor Demands Repayment of Misspent Welfare Money That civil claim remains part of ongoing litigation in Mississippi courts.
Where the Broader Scandal Stands
The scandal traces to money the Mississippi Department of Human Services was supposed to spend on low-income residents through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and The Emergency Food Assistance Program. Between 2016 and 2019, tens of millions of those dollars were diverted through nonprofits run by Nancy New and Christi Webb into pet projects and payments to well-connected individuals. State Auditor Shad White has called it “the most egregious misspending my staff have seen in their careers.”13New York Times. Mississippi Department of Human Services Welfare Fraud
Seven other people have pleaded guilty in the scandal, and DiBiase is the only person to have taken the case to trial. John Davis was sentenced to 32 years in state custody and awaits federal sentencing. Nancy New, her son Zachary New, and Christi Webb have all pleaded guilty and remain awaiting sentencing as they cooperate with investigators. Brett DiBiase, Ted Jr.’s brother, pleaded guilty to state fraud charges in December 2020 and a federal conspiracy charge in March 2023, with sentencing deferred; prosecutors alleged TANF funds paid for his stay at a luxury California rehab facility.14Mississippi Free Press. Wrestler Brett DiBiase Pleads Guilty to Federal Charge in Mississippi Welfare Scandal Accountant Anne McGrew was sentenced in May 2026 to one year in prison followed by four years of house arrest.15Mississippi Today. Accountant Sentenced in Welfare Misspending Case
Former Governor Phil Bryant, who appointed Davis, has been implicated in text messages and testimony but has not been charged; his attorney has noted that federal investigators reviewed the matter under two administrations without bringing charges.16Mississippi Free Press. Phil Bryants Defamation Lawsuit Over Welfare Scandal Reporting Could Be Revived, Justices Signal Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre, whose company received $1.1 million in welfare funds for speaking engagements auditors said he never attended, faces a state civil lawsuit but no criminal charges.17Mississippi Today. Federal Welfare Scandal Investigation Update
Meanwhile, in December 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a penalty notice demanding Mississippi repay $100,880,029 in misspent TANF funds.18Mississippi Today. Feds Ask Mississippi to Repay $101 Million in Misspent Welfare Money The state disputes that figure and negotiations continue. If the penalty stands, the federal government will deduct it from Mississippi’s annual $86.5 million TANF allotment, leaving the state to make up the difference.