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Former Gov. Phil Bryant boasted of Prevacus stock offer at Christmas party, court filing alleges

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Former Gov. Phil Bryant’s intent to accept stock in a pharmaceutical company that had received hundreds of thousands of federal funds from the welfare agency he controlled was a topic of conversation at his final Christmas party at the Governor’s Mansion, a recent court filing alleges.

Nancy New, the nonprofit operator pegged as a ringleader of the ever-unfolding Mississippi welfare scandal, has again alleged through new details in a court filing that Bryant was behind some of the spending that officials have called the largest public embezzlement scheme in state history.

Mississippi Department of Human Services’ current civil complaint — the state government’s legal effort to recoup misspent welfare funds — accuses New of meeting with Bryant’s appointed welfare director at former NFL quarterback Brett Favre’s house in early 2019 to discuss a “substantial stock investment” in the pharmaceutical startup.

New began funneling grant funds through her nonprofit Mississippi Community Education Center to the drug company, called Prevacus, in the following weeks. State prosecutors originally accused New in 2020 following a state auditor’s investigation of embezzling welfare money in order to make personal investments in Prevacus. In 2022, she instead pleaded guilty in state court to three counts of wire fraud related to the payments, since Prevacus was “known to be ineligible to receive such public grant funds.”

But in her Monday filing, New states that “the only ‘substantial stock investment in Prevacus’ that I am aware of is the one Governor Bryant told me about during a Christmas party at the Mansion in 2019.”

Around the time of the party, Prevacus founder Jake Vanlandingham had been talking to the governor about “bring(ing) you onboard with ownership,” according to texts Mississippi Today first published in a 2022 investigation “The Backchannel.”

“The Governor had been funding Prevacus through MDHS and MCEC for about a year,” New’s latest filing states, “so it was not unusual for Brett, or Jake, or Prevacus to come up in conversations with the Governor. At the Christmas party, Jake’s name came up. Governor Bryant got excited and told me that Jake had offered him ‘half the company,’ which I understood to mean a substantial amount of stock, but the Governor said he was going to have to wait until he was out of office to accept.”

Bryant’s alleged involvement in the scandal is important to New’s defense, which relies in part on the fact that as a contractor of the agency, her nonprofit was acting in accordance with the state’s directives.

Vanlandingham first reached out to New in late 2018 shortly after meeting with Bryant about locating a drug manufacturing operation in the state. By this point, New’s nonprofit Mississippi Community Education Center had been receiving tens of millions of federal grant funds from Mississippi Department of Human Services, an agency under the purview of the governor’s office.

New had already used some of the funds starting in 2017 to fund the construction of a volleyball stadium at University of Southern Mississippi — another project promoted by Favre and directed by Bryant, according to New. When New and Favre initially hit a snag pushing the needed funding to the volleyball stadium, for example, “Governor Bryant called me and said he liked the volleyball project and wanted me to provide the additional funds that Brett needed,” New’s filing this week reads.

Bryant has denied directing welfare spending on either project or agreeing to accept stock in the drug company. Citing a gag order in the state’s civil case, Bryant’s attorney declined to comment to Mississippi Today for this story. The former governor is not facing civil or criminal charges.

On the call in late 2018, Vanlandingham told New that “he, Brett Favre and Governor Bryant were working together to fund a concussion drug company called Prevacus. Jake knew that Governor Bryant, (then-MDHS director) John Davis and I had funded the volleyball facility/wellness center at USM through MDHS and MCEC,” the filing reads.

Prevacus was looking for $750,000 to complete the first phase of drug trials, New said, plus $1 million more down the road. New said she agreed to relay the message to Davis, Bryant’s appointed welfare director. New alleged that Davis then spoke to Bryant and, after the conversation, agreed to meet with Vanlandingham.

Davis’ calendar entry for the meeting, first obtained by Mississippi Today in 2020, recorded that, “This meeting was requested by Brett Favre and the Governor to discuss the Educational Research Program that addresses brain injury caused by concussions. They also want to discuss the new facility at USM.”

New, Davis and his close associate, former WWE wrestler Ted “Teddy” DiBiase Jr., traveled to Favre’s home outside of Hattiesburg on a stormy day in early January of 2019.

“I understood the purpose of the meeting was for John to hear about Prevacus, so he could decide whether MDHS should provide funding. I later learned the decision to fund Prevacus through MDHS had already been made,” New’s latest filing states. “After the meeting, I asked John why he had committed so much funding so quickly. John said he had spoken with Governor Bryant and the Governor wanted Prevacus funded. John said the Governor was ‘all about this happening.’”

New’s filing also alleges Bryant instructed Davis to fund the volleyball stadium project. The federal government prohibits states from using welfare funds on brick-and-mortar, so the welfare agency began creating expensive subleases that they said would allow them to conduct programming at various properties, but more importantly, would allow for them to conduct high-dollar renovations or builds. The volleyball project was not the first time this idea was raised.

“Governor and Mrs. Bryant wanted a ‘palliative care’ center built in Jackson, Mississippi, so MDHS created a lease structure to use grant funds to pay for construction,” New’s filing reads.

Forensic auditors found that this lease was never executed, but it appears the lease arrangement was utilized later for the USM facility.

Davis has not commented publicly about the circumstances surrounding Prevacus and the volleyball stadium projects. While Davis pleaded guilty in 2022 to two federal charges and 18 state counts of fraud or conspiracy related to the scandal, each count pertained to payments made to benefit former professional wrestlers Teddy DiBiase and his younger brother Brett DiBiase — not regarding the Prevacus or volleyball projects. Davis has not been sentenced.

Following the January 2019 meeting, Vanlandingham thanked Bryant and said that he was excited to be working with the agency and nonprofit directors. Once New began sending payments to Prevacus, Favre briefed Bryant, texting the governor, “We couldn’t be more happy about the funding from the State of MS.”

Bryant continued to consult with Vanlandingham and Favre about advancing Prevacus’ development through 2019 and after leaving office, at which point he promised to “get on it hard.”

New’s account that Bryant opted to wait until he left office to accept a company package in Prevacus is consistent with his own text messages. After Vanlandingham offered to bring Bryant on with ownership in early December of 2019, Bryant responded, “Cannot till January 15th,” Bryant wrote, referring to his first day out of office.

“But would love to talk then,” Bryant added. “This is the type of thing I love to be a part of. Something that save lives…”

On Jan. 16, 2020, Vanlandingham texted Bryant, “Now that you’re unemployed I’d like to give you a company package for all your help,” to which Bryant responded, “Sounds good.”

Bryant told Mississippi Today in an April 2022 interview that he ended his business relationship with Prevacus on his own accord before the initial arrests. But his texts show he kept discussing when and where to meet with Vanlandingham all the way up until the day before the arrests and only discontinued the conversations after reading Prevacus’ name in the 2020 indictments.

Since her arrest in 2020, New has mostly refrained from commenting publicly on the case or offering her side of the story, with the exception of material that appears in documents gathered through discovery. The personal accounts in New’s latest filing may reflect what she is prepared to offer in upcoming depositions or trials — such as the exchanges she witnessed that may not appear in written communication.

New has not been sentenced and is a cooperating witness in the ongoing federal criminal investigation.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Mississippi Today

On this day in 1961

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2024-11-22 07:00:00

Nov. 22, 1961

Credit: Courtesy: Georgia Tourism & Travel

Five Black students, made up of NAACP Youth Council members and two SNCC volunteers from Albany State College, were arrested after entering the white waiting room of the Trailways station in Albany, Georgia. 

The council members bonded out of jail, but the SNCC volunteers, Bertha Gober and Blanton Hall declined bail and “chose to remain in jail over the holidays to dramatize their demand for justice,” according to SNCC Digital Gateway. The president of Albany State College expelled them. 

Gober became one of SNCC’s Freedom Singers and wrote the song, “We’ll Never Turn Back,” after the 1961 killing of Herbert Lee in Mississippi. The tune became SNCC’s anthem. 

After her release from jail, Gober joined other students, and police arrested her and other demonstrators. Back in the same jail, she sang to the police chief and mayor to open the cells, “I hear God’s children praying in jail, ‘Freedom, freedom, freedom.’” 

Albany State suspended another student, Bernice Reagon, after she joined SNCC. She poured herself into the civil rights movement and later formed the Grammy-nominated a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock to educate and empower the audience and community. 

“When I opened my mouth and began to sing, there was a force and power within myself I had never heard before,” a power she said she did not know she had. 

Other members of the Freedom Singers included Cordell Reagon, Bernice Johnson, Dorothy Vallis, Rutha Harris, Bernard Lafayette and Charles Neblett. On the third anniversary of the sit-in movement in 1963, they performed at Carnegie Hall. 

“This is a singing movement,” SNCC leader James Forman told a reporter. “The songs help. Without them, it would be ugly.” 

Today, the Albany Civil Rights Institute houses exhibits on these protesters, Martin Luther King Jr. and others who joined the Albany Movement.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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IHL deletes the word ‘diversity’ from its policies

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mississippitoday.org – Molly Minta – 2024-11-21 14:32:00

The governing board of Mississippi’s public universities voted Thursday to delete the word “diversity” from several policies, including a requirement that the board evaluate university presidents on campus diversity outcomes.

Though the Legislature has not passed a bill targeting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in higher education, the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees approved the changes “in order to ensure continued compliance with state and federal law,” according to the board book

The move comes on the heels of the re-election of former President Donald Trump and after several universities in Mississippi have renamed their diversity offices. Earlier this year, the IHL board approved changes to the University of Southern Mississippi’s mission and vision statements that removed the words “diverse” and “inclusiveness.”

In an email, John Sewell, IHL’s communications director, did not respond to several questions about the policy changes but wrote that the board’s goal was to “reinforce our commitment to ensuring students have access to the best education possible, supported by world-class faculty and staff.”

“The end goal is to support all students, and to make sure they graduate fully prepared to enter the workforce, hopefully in Mississippi,” Sewell added.

On Thursday, trustees approved the changes without discussion after a first reading by Harold Pizzetta, the associate commissioner for legal affairs and risk management. But Sewell wrote in an email that the board discussed the policy amendments in open session two months ago during its retreat in Meridian, more than an hour away from the board’s normal meeting location in Jackson.

IHL often uses these retreats, which unlike its regular board meetings aren’t livestreamed and are rarely attended by members of the public outside of the occasional reporter, to discuss potentially controversial policy changes.

Last year, the board had a spirited discussion about a policy change that would have increased its oversight of off-campus programs during its retreat at the White House Hotel in Biloxi. In 2022, during a retreat that also took place in Meridian, trustees discussed changing the board’s tenure policies. At both retreats, a Mississippi Today reporter was the only member of the public to witness the discussions.

The changes to IHL’s diversity policy echo a shift, particularly at colleges and universities in conservative states, from concepts like diversity in favor of “access” and “opportunity.” In higher education, the term “diversity, equity and inclusion” has traditionally referred to a range of efforts to comply with civil rights laws and foster a sense of on-campus belonging among minority populations.

But in recent years, conservative politicians have contended that DEI programs are wasteful spending and racist. A bill to ban state funding for DEI in Mississippi died earlier this year, but at least 10 other states have passed laws seeking to end or restrict such initiatives at state agencies, including publicly funded universities, according to ABC News.

In Mississippi, the word “diversity” first appeared in IHL’s policies in 1998. The diversity statement was adopted in 2005 and amended in 2013. 

The board’s vote on Thursday turned the diversity statement, which was deleted in its entirety, into a “statement on higher education access and success” according to the board book. 

“One of the strengths of Mississippi is the diversity of its people,” the diversity statement read. “This diversity enriches higher education and contributes to the capacity that our students develop for living in a multicultural and interdependent world.”

Significantly, the diversity statement required the IHL board to evaluate the university presidents and the higher learning commissioner on diversity outcomes. 

The statement also included system-wide goals — some of which it is unclear if the board has achieved — to increase the enrollment and graduation rates of minority students, employ more underrepresented faculty, staff and administrators, and increase the use of minority-owned contractors and vendors. 

Sewell did not respond to questions about if IHL has met those goals or if the board will continue to evaluate presidents on diversity outcomes.

In the new policy, those requirements were replaced with two paragraphs about the importance of respectful dialogue on campus and access to higher education for all Mississippians. 

“We encourage all members of the academic community to engage in respectful, meaningful discourse with the aim of promoting critical thinking in the pursuit of knowledge, a deeper understanding of the human condition, and the development of character,” the new policy reads. “All students should be supported in their educational journey through programming and services designed to have a positive effect on their individual academic performance, retention, and graduation.” 

Also excised was a policy that listed common characteristics of universities in Mississippi, including “a commitment to ethnic and gender diversity,” among others. Another policy on institutional scholarships was also edited to remove a clause that required such programs to “promote diversity.” 

“IHL is committed to higher education access and success among all populations to assist the state of Mississippi in meeting its enrollment and degree completion goals, as well as building a highly-skilled workforce,” the institutional scholarship policy now reads. 

The board also approved a change that requires the universities to review their institutional mission statements on an annual basis.

A policy on “planning principles” will continue to include the word “diverse,” and a policy that states the presidential search advisory committees will “be representative in terms of diversity” was left unchanged.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Closed St. Dominic’s mental health beds to reopen in December under new management

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mississippitoday.org – Gwen Dilworth – 2024-11-21 13:54:00

The shuttered St. Dominic’s mental health unit will reopen under the management of a for-profit, Texas-based company next month. 

Oceans Behavioral Hospital Jackson, a 77-bed facility, will provide inpatient behavioral health services to adults and seniors and add intensive outpatient treatment services next year. 

“Jackson continuously ranks as one of the cities for our company that shows one of the greatest needs in terms of behavioral health,” Oceans Healthcare CEO Stuart Archer told Mississippi Today at a ribbon cutting ceremony at its location on St. Dominic’s campus Thursday. “…There’s been an outcry for high quality care.” 

St. Dominic’s 83-bed mental health unit closed suddenly in June 2023, citing “substantial financial challenges.”

Merit Health Central, which operates a 71-bed psychiatric health hospital unit in Jackson, sued Oceans in March, arguing that the new hospital violated the law by using a workaround to avoid a State Health Department requirement that the hospital spend at least 17% of its gross patient revenue on indigent and charity care.

Without a required threshold for this care, Merit Health Central will shoulder the burden of treating more non-paying patients, the hospital in South Jackson argued. 

The suit, which also names St. Dominic’s Hospital and the Mississippi Department of Health as defendants, awaits a ruling from Hinds County Chancery Court Judge Tametrice Hodges-Linzey next year. 

The complaint does not bar Oceans from moving forward with its plans to reopen, said Archer.

A hallway inside Oceans Behavioral Hospital in Jackson, Miss., is seen on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, during the facility’s grand opening. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

Oceans operates two other mental health facilities in Mississippi and over 30 other locations in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. 

“Oceans is very important to the Coast, to Tupelo, and it’s important right here in this building. It’s part of the state of Mississippi’s response to making sure people receive adequate mental health care in Mississippi,” said Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann at the Nov. 21 ribbon cutting.

Some community leaders have been critical of the facility. 

“Oceans plans to duplicate existing services available to insured patients while ignoring the underserved and indigent population in need,” wrote Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones in an Oct. 1 letter provided to Mississippi Today by Merit Health. 

Massachusetts-based Webster Equity Partners, a private-equity firm with a number of investments in health care, bought Oceans in 2022. St. Dominic’s is owned by Louisiana-based Catholic nonprofit Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System.

Oceans first filed a “certificate of need” application to reopen the St. Dominic’s mental health unit in October 2023. 

Mississippi’s certificate of need law requires medical facilities to receive approval from the state before opening a new health care center to demonstrate there is a need for its services. 

The Department of Health approved the application under the condition that the hospital spend at least 17% of its patient revenue on free or low-cost medical care for low-income individuals – far more than the two percent it proposed. 

Stuart Archer, CEO of Oceans Healthcare, speaks during the grand opening of Oceans Behavioral Hospital in Jackson, Miss., on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

Oceans projected in its application that the hospital’s profit would equal $2.6 million in its third year, and it would spend $341,103 on charity care.

Merit Health contested the conditional approval, arguing that because its mental health unit provides 22% charity care, Oceans providing less would have a “significant adverse effect” on Merit by diverting more patients without insurance or unable to pay for care to its beds. 

Oceans and St. Dominic’s also opposed the state’s charity care condition, arguing that 17% was an unreasonable figure. 

But before a public hearing could be held on the matter, Oceans and St. Dominic’s filed for a “change of ownership,” bypassing the certificate of need process entirely. The state approved the application 11 days later

Merit Health Central then sued Oceans, St. Dominic and the State Department of Health, seeking to nullify the change of ownership. 

“The (change of ownership) filing and DOH approval … are nothing more than an ‘end run’ around CON law,” wrote Merit Health in the complaint. 

Oceans, St. Dominic’s and the Mississippi Department of Health have filed motions to dismiss the case. 

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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