Mississippi TANF - When Does the Abuse of the System Begin?

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John Davis is the former director who was in charge of the welfare department when the scandal occurred and he just pled guilty to federal charges last week. A state judge today said it's Davis to more than 30 years in prison and put him on house arrest until the federal sentencing in February. "We've got a very low income and low wage population and these funds would have actually helped people find self-sufficiency," she says.

An extraordinary case of fraud is unfolding in Mississippi, where a chummy cadre of nonprofit leaders, elected officials, and professional athletes redirected tens of millions in welfare funds toward their own pet projects. Mississippi Today’s Anna Wolfe explains.

This episode was produced by Hady Mawajdeh and Avishay Artsy, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Paul Robert Mounsey and Efim Shapiro, and hosted by Noel King.

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