Brett Favre repays $600,000 to Mississippi in welfare case, still owes $228,000 in interest

Brett Favre may have repaid a big chunk of what he owes Mississippi, but his legal troubles with the state aren't over yet.

The former Green Bay Packers quarterback and Hall of Famer repaid $600,000 to Mississippi this week after the state demanded he return welfare money he accepted last year for speeches and appearances he didn’t make, according to The Associated Press.

The state sent him a letter earlier this month demanding he repay the final $600,000 he owed it plus $228,000 in interest — something Mississippi is still waiting for.

Favre received $1.1 million from Mississippi

Favre was named in a Mississippi state audit in May 2020 after he accepted $1.1 million for appearances he didn’t make. The money reportedly came from the federal government’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

The mistake was part of more than $94 million of improperly spent federal money that was supposed to help at-need residents in Mississippi. It’s unclear how Favre’s appearances would have helped the at-need Mississippians.

Though Favre initially said he made the appearances, he said he didn’t realize where the money had come from and immediately paid back $500,000. He said he would pay the rest back in installments.

But after Favre hadn’t paid back any more, the state sent him a letter earlier this month and threatened him with a civil lawsuit if he didn’t repay the final $600,000 plus interest.

Favre is not facing criminal charges in the incident, though six people — including former state Department of Human Services director John Davis — have been in the embezzlement case.

If Favre doesn’t pay the $228,000 he still owes the state by Nov. 12, though, the state sounds ready to follow through on its threat of a lawsuit.