Brett Favre to Testify Before Congress Over Alleged Misuse of Welfare Funds: Report

The three-time NFL MVP has been embroiled in a Mississippi lawsuit that alleges he misused millions of dollars in state welfare funds

Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre will face questions at an upcoming congressional hearing about the need for welfare reform amid his alleged misuse of Mississippi welfare funds, according to a new ESPN report.

Favre, 54, has been at the center of a multimillion dollar welfare scandal in recent years in his home state of Mississippi.

The Mississippi Department of Human Services named the longtime Green Bay Packers quarterback and 40 others in a 2023 lawsuit which aimed to regain some misspent welfare funds.

The lawsuit was filed following an investigation by the state's auditor, Shad White, which had discovered about $77 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds from 2016-2019 went to projects led by Favre and others instead of to families in need, the Associated Press and NBC News reported last year.

Favre has denied the allegations, which included a claim that he and ex-Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant plotted to redirect at least $5 million in TANF funds to help build a volleyball stadium at the University of Southern Mississippi, his alma mater and the school where his daughter played volleyball at the time.

Related: Brett Favre to Be Deposed Over Mississippi Welfare Scandal

A Mississippi Today report last year included text messages Favre allegedly wrote which appeared to implicate him in the scheme.

In one text message, filed as part of Mississippi's lawsuit over the TANF funds, Favre allegedly wrote: "If you were to pay me is there anyway media can find out where it came from and how much?"

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Related: Former Packers Quarterback Brett Favre Allegedly Used Welfare Funds for College Volleyball Stadium

ESPN reports that Favre will testify during the congressional House Ways and Means committee’s upcoming "Reforming Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): States' Misuse of Welfare Funds Leaves Poor Families Behind” hearing, set to take place next Tuesday.

White, the Mississippi state auditor who launched the investigation into Favre and dozens of others, said that the three-time NFL MVP also received $1.1 million in state funds to make motivational speeches that he never actually gave.

Favre has said he repaid the debt, PEOPLE previously reported, but the state auditor says the retired quarterback still owes $228,000 in interest.

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