Mississippi Swindle
Brett Favre and the Welfare Scandal that Shocked America
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4.3 • 4 Ratings
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
How America’s youngest state auditor uncovered the largest public corruption scandal in the history of the nation’s poorest state
“A must read” with all the thrills of a John Grisham novel — for fans of shocking true crime exposés like Black Edge and Bad Blood (Peter Schweizer, author of Secret Empires)
This riveting exposé details how a small team of auditors and investigators, led by the youngest State Auditor in the country, uncovered a brazen scheme where the powerful stole millions in welfare funds from the poor in a sprawling conspiracy that stretched from Mississippi to Malibu.
Well-connected donors, highly placed officials, and popular public figures diverted tens of millions of dollars from the federal government's TANF — temporary assistance for needy families — program until a Republican auditor, his small team of dedicated investigators, and a Democratic prosecutor joined forces to hold them accountable in the face of intense obstruction and harassment.
Peopled with unforgettable characters — from the perpetrators; to the impoverished citizens for whom the money was intended; to the investigators, prosecutors, and reporters who held them to account — Mississippi Swindle is a political and true crime drama that highlights larger crises while appealing to a broad nationwide audience.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Mississippi state auditor White delivers a gripping if overripe look at an ongoing fraud case. In 2019, Mississippi governor Phil Bryant informed White that the head of a state agency "might be receiving a kickback." From there, White unraveled a scheme originating with heiress and influential political donor Nancy New, who managed a nonprofit called the Mississippi Community Education Center. New's foundation received funding from the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program under the pretense that she and her son would distribute it to Mississippi's poorest residents. Instead, White alleges, she used the money—nearly $100 million—to make personal purchases and curry favor with politicians and celebrities across the state, including NFL star Brett Favre, for whom she promised to build a volleyball stadium at his alma mater. The case's particulars are infuriating, and White smoothly integrates esoteric accounting details into a narrative paced like a thriller. Unfortunately, his inflated rhetoric and chest-puffing heroism are likely to rub readers the wrong way. It's a mixed bag.
