JACKSON, Miss. — Retired NFL player Brett Favre has repaid $600,000 in state welfare money he accepted for speeches where he didn’t appear, but the state attorney general could sue Favre if he doesn’t pay interest owed on the amount, the Mississippi auditor said Wednesday.
Auditor Shad White said Favre paid the $600,000 to the auditor’s office this week. White sent the former Green Bay Packers quarterback a letter Oct. 12 demanding $828,000, which was the $600,000 plus $228,000 in interest.
Of the $228,000, White said: “If he does not pay that within 30 days of our demand, the AG will be responsible for enforcing the payment of the interest in court.”
Favre is not facing criminal charges, but former Mississippi Department of Human Services director John Davis and other people have been charged in one of the state’s largest embezzlement cases. Allegations of misspending came to light in early 2020 when Davis and five others were indicted.
White said in May 2020 that Favre, who lives in Mississippi, had repaid $500,000 of the $1.1 million in welfare money he received for multiple no-show speeches. Favre was paid by Mississippi Community Education Center, a nonprofit group whose former leader is among those awaiting trial.
In a Facebook post when he repaid the first $500,000, Favre said he didn’t know the money he received came from welfare funds. He also said his charity had provided millions of dollars to poor children in Mississippi and Wisconsin.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.