Wrestler Ted Dibiase Jr. charged with diverting federal funds intended for needy families

Ted Dibiase Jr, the well-known WWE wrestler, is in trouble. The Justice Department accused him Thursday of diverting federal funds intended for vulnerable families. Justice filed charges in the state of Mississippi against Dibiase for 13 financial crimes.

According to the DOJ press release, Dibiase, along with other defendants, fraudulently obtained federal funds allocated to the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. John Davis, director of the Mississippi Department of Human Resources, is involved in the misappropriation of the funds.

With Davis' help, the funds were distributed to two charities that subsequently awarded several contracts to two companies owned by Dibiase, who thus became the ultimate recipient of the federal funds. A series of services contracted to Dibiase companies justified the agreements. But the companies never actually provided these services.

According to the State Department, Dibiase purchased a vehicle and a boat with the money from federal funds. In addition to other minor purchases, he also used the funds to pay the down payment on the purchase of a house.

Dibiase is charged with "conspiracy to commit wire fraud; theft in connection with programs receiving federal funds; six counts of wire fraud; two counts of theft in connection with programs receiving federal funds; and four counts of money laundering."

If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge, a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment on each count of wire fraud, and a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment for each count of theft related to programs receiving federal funds and for each count of money laundering.

This is not the first time that Dibiase has had problems with Justice. In 2020 he was already implicated in another embezzlement case along with his brother, Brett Dibiase.