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Mississippi welfare officials for years directed federal funds intended to serve the state’s poorest residents to suspicious causes such as a university volleyball stadium, drug rehab for a former pro wrestler, a horse ranch for a former pro football player, and dozens of other things auditors have since flagged.

Text messages obtained by Mississippi Today and a new court filing reveal that the state’s welfare funds may have been lost in another stunning plot: an African heiress gold bar scam.

For the majority of 2019, the federal welfare funds quietly flowed to a pharmaceutical startup with questionable financial prospects. The payments are one component of civil litigation the state is bringing against dozens of people or companies that misspent or improperly received welfare funds.

A pleading filed Dec. 12 in the lawsuit alleges that the company’s founder, a defendant in the case, turned around and sent at least some of that money to an investment group in Ghana, Africa, for a venture that he thought would make him rich but turned out to be a scam.

The founder estimates he lost no more than $30,000 in company funds during a time when the company was greatly funded by a welfare grant, though it’s unclear how much of that amount may have originated from the federal funds. At that time, it would have taken a family of three 15 years to receive that much through the welfare program — a monthly check of $170 — which would have been impossible because the assistance maxes out after five years.

A defense attorney for another defendant recounted painstaking details of the hoax in his lengthy court filing, which alleges former Gov. Phil Bryant was behind the welfare department’s spending, including the intertwining of a drug manufacturing project with a federally-funded anti-poverty initiative. Bryant has repeatedly denied directing any of the welfare spending in question.

Jake Vanlandingham, a neuroscientist from Florida, founded a pharmaceutical startup called Prevacus in 2012 with the idea of developing a drug to treat concussions. To build up the company, he brought on former NFL quarterback Brett Favre, who himself suffered from concussions and used his platform as a famous athlete to raise awareness about the issue.

Favre and Vanlandingham would later take the project to then-Gov. Bryant and then secure $2 million in welfare funds through an economic development partnership that Bryant has tried to distance himself from since arrests in early 2020.

But before all that, the scientist became involved with an inventor who appears to have led him into a movie-like investment scam.

According to texts obtained by Mississippi Today, Vanlandingham began consulting with a man named Don Martin around 2017 to find additional funding and investors for Prevacus. Martin was based in Columbus, Ohio, and had his own concussion-related “smart helmet” venture. 

He told Vanlandingham he was working on a deal with an investor named Daniella who owned land in Africa worth hundreds of millions that she was trying to sell to the government. Martin, now 71, told Mississippi Today last week that he met the supposed investor, a wealthy heiress from Ghana, when she reached out to him on Facebook.

Simultaneously, Vanlandingham said he was working to secure patents in China, to which he said he owed hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Through 2018, Martin had promised to secure an investment of $1 million out of the Ghana deal for Prevacus. That prospect, however far-fetched, was enticing to Vanlandingham, who said he needed the money to leverage an additional $2 million from the U.S. Department of Defense.

But after months of stringing the scientist along, Martin finally told Vanlandingham he would have to first put up $25,000 to help pay for a “geological analysis” for the land that Martin said his overseas investor required.

Vanlandingham tried to find the money, but the scientist’s contacts had dried up and he was experiencing deep personal financial problems, according to the texts. He was forced to sell his family’s home to pay the taxes for Prevacus, he said, and ask his mom for a loan to get into a rental. Martin tried to put him at ease by saying things like, “I know what we are doing is pleasing to God.”

Vanlandingham tried to get Favre to secure the $25,000 through an investment in Prevacus from one of his fellow professional athletes, but they wouldn’t bite.

Then Favre suggested they ask the then-Mississippi governor for help and offer him stock in the company. Bryant bit. The men met with several others for dinner in Jackson at Walker’s Drive-In in late December of 2018.

Days later on Jan. 2, 2019, the scientist and Favre met with then-welfare agency director John Davis and nonprofit operator Nancy New. There, they struck a deal — which Bryant denies facilitating — to push $1.7 million in federal welfare grant funds to Prevacus.

“Davis conferred with Bryant concerning using MDHS grant funds to benefit Prevacus,” alleges the court document filed Dec. 12 on behalf of New’s nonprofit Mississippi Community Education Center. “Bryant, Davis, and other MDHS Executives directed, approved, facilitated, and furthered the use of MDHS grant funds … to benefit Prevacus.”

Bryant, who is suing Mississippi Today for defamation and has sent threats to the news outlet for continuing to report this story, declined through an attorney to answer questions about this story or respond to allegations in the latest court filing.

The concept was for Prevacus to locate its clinical trial site and eventually the drug manufacturing plant at Tradition, a real estate development and medical corridor on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Bryant would later become vice president of the venture, and the developer, Joe Canizaro, said he paid Bryant on retainer for consulting services for years after he left office.

The grant money for Prevacus didn’t come through instantaneously. “Is the grant submitted now? Have you been pre-approved? Are you confident funds will be within 48 hours?” Martin texted anxiously. “I need to update the attorneys.”

Vanlandingham assured Martin he’d secured the grant from Mississippi and the money was on its way. Martin said he was at peace “Knowing all is good and the communication with the grant lady is specific to distribution date.”

Vanlandingham had held Martin off for months as the hopeful inventor badgered Vanlandingham for some portion of the $25,000. But once Prevacus’ first payment of $750,000 in Mississippi welfare money came in mid-January 2019, Vanlandingham almost immediately wired an unspecified amount to Martin’s company ACTEX, texts show. “Wire sent your way. Make us proud,” Vanlandingham texted Martin on Jan. 23, 2019.

Vanlandingham texted another public official, Leonard Bentz, the director of South Mississippi Planning & Development District, formerly an elected public service commissioner for the southern district, who was at the meeting with Bryant in December.

“Hey brother lots of good stuff happening for us. 1.95M with the Governors help. We are excited. Good time to get investors!!!” Vanlandingham wrote in a never-before-published text. Bentz did not respond to this text. While he initially expressed enthusiasm about potentially finding funding for Prevacus at the Mississippi Development Authority, it wasn’t too long until Bentz stopped responding to Vanladingham altogether. Bentz said he was unaware welfare agency grant funds were used on the venture.

“I don’t think the governor and them have as much involvement as everybody’s making it out to be,” Bentz told Mississippi Today last week. “It is what it is, if those people who were managing those funds didn’t do right, then it sounds like the criminal justice system is going to get them for not doing right.”

Bentz added that if the concussion drug, which Prevacus has since sold to another company, ends up being legitimate, he still wants the manufacturing facility located in Mississippi. “Tell them we’d love to sit down with them,” he said.

For two weeks after Vanlandingham sent the funds to Martin, nothing happened until Martin explained “there is serious political unrest” in Ghana where his contact was located. He told Vanlandingham that Daniella was unsafe because there had been a rash of kidnappings of wealthy people in her region. Martin often discussed the plan to fly the wealthy heiress to the states, though he denied to Mississippi Today ever having a romantic relationship with the woman.

“The plan is first focus to get her to me safe,” Martin texted.

A week or so later, Martin broke the news to Vanlandingham that Ghana Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia had been in a serious car accident that killed his driver — a story news outlets widely reported but was later debunked. Another two weeks later, Martin said Daniella was in critical condition with malaria and depression. “They say she may not make it,” Martin said.

Vanlandingham sent another wire. “Bless you Jake! Daniella is better thanks to your thoughtfulness,” Martin responded. A month later, Martin asked for another $500, because “the government did not accept” the initial payment.

“This is it for me,” Vanlandingham responded. “I’m worried shitless this is a scam. I have until April 9th to pay 300k to China.”

By mid-April, Vanlandingham was saying, “I’m dead man … I owe 336k a week ago.”

But Martin had good news: their multi-million dollar payment was approved and ready to process, they just needed “a legal permit to the holding bank” which the government required “to meet compliance on source of monies.”

They were just short $4,000. The same day, April 18, 2019, New’s nonprofit sent Prevacus another $500,000.

The texts show Vanlandingham sent Martin another wire the next day. “Money cleared,” Martin texted, and Vanlandingham responded, “I’m counting on u brother.”

When Favre asked Vanlandingham for an update on Prevacus’ finances, the scientist responded, “Not much still pushing the African money.”

Then the attorney on the ground in Ghana who they were allegedly working with to close the deal asked for a $1,000 stipend. Martin relayed his message: “Please try your best and get me the 1k to survive on I have no one here.”

In mid-May, Prevacus received another $250,000 in Mississippi grant funds. About a week later, Martin offered more good news: he could increase his investment in Prevacus to $1.5 million “if you can wire $5k to me today or pay to accelerate.” Vanlandingham sent another wire. 

“Man I’m stoked. … It’s our time!!!” Vanlandingham texted. Then, after receiving no money four days later, “Yo, my brother. I’m dying!!!”

Around the same time, the court filing shows that Vanlandingham was updating Prevacus investors about “clinical patient intake site at Tradition,” telling them, “A great deal of this has been funded with the help of folks in Mississippi including the Governor.”

In early June, Martin again told Vanlandingham they needed more money to close. Daniella had found two more parcels that the government wanted to add to the real estate deal, but Vanlandingham would have to put up another $8,000 in closing costs. 

“What if we don’t?” Vanlandingham asked. Martin responded, “Wow…if we don’t then according to the attorney the government can get ugly and take the land.”

A few days later, Vanlandingham said he secured another investor and sent another wire to Martin. “Make us proud brother,” he texted.

A couple weeks later, the story went that there was a hold up at the bank. While the attorney, who they called Steven, was trying to wire the money, “the Ghana Media Coalition against illegal small-scale mining came up to Steven seeing the wire was a great deal of money stopping to question him…holding him until yesterday.”

“A friend of the Minister and Steven’s is putting up $17k for attorneys fees to clear Steven and release the wire,” Martin said.

Vanlandingham responded, “This sounds positive at some level?”

Now, Martin said, they needed to find an additional $18,000 to release the hold.

Vanlandingham began researching what are called “4-1-9” fraud schemes and found an article on the website for the U.S. Embassy in Ghana describing a scenario eerily similar to what he was experiencing. 

The website states, “The goal of the criminal is to delude the target into thinking that he is being drawn into a very lucrative, albeit questionable, arrangement.”

Vanlandingham texted Martin a link to the article, explaining that he’d been looking into this “fraud stuff” where “it’s always ‘urgent’ and there’s always just ‘one more’ payment.”

Martin, whom the Dec. 12 court filing described as “unflappable”, responded by acknowledging the existence of such schemes — “Yes – there is…Steven told me all about it” — but then appeared to try to distract from the issue by describing in detail an unrelated illegal mining operation.

“…especially regarding the Chinese national at the heart of illegal mining in Ghana, … Nicknamed as the “galamsey queen”, … who was arraigned in Ghana in 2017 for engaging in illegal small-scale mining at Bepotenten in the Amansie Central District in the Ashanti Region, was later deported in December 2018 by the government,” Martin wrote.

A few days later, Vanlandingham began talking about involving the FBI “if this gets hung up much longer.”

When he suggested this to the lawyer in Ghana, Vanlandingham received the response, “You can report to FBI like you said am not scared sir am not a criminal if us every thing is for real you will regret thinking other wise.”

But the scientist proceeded with them earnestly. “Worse still, Martin had begun proposing unusual transactions,” the court filing reads. “For example, Martin told Vanlandingham that ‘[w]hen Steven wires to Prevacus $2k, you will wire back the $2k to same source he sent from then you will wire me 4500 … and I will wire him 4500 – closing same day.’”

The deal was falling apart, but Martin said Daniella had a backup plan: “the gold bars her father gave her before he died she is trying to sell … she sent me a Video.”

“So to be clear as of now we are betting on selling gold bars for me just to get my money back?” Vanlandingham texted.

The same day, on July, 16, 2019, Favre texted Gov. Bryant about funding for another pharmaceutical product he said New had promised to support but had apparently dropped. “Hey Governor we are in a little bit of a crunch. … Jake can explain more but bottom line we need investors and need your direction.”

“Will get with Jake.. will help all I can,” Bryant responded.

Also the same day, Prevacus received another $400,000 in Mississippi welfare money. New had told Vanlandingham, “I will need to let Brett know that we will need to pull this from what we were hoping to help him with [volleyball]….”

That evening, Favre visited Bryant. On his way, Favre texted Bryant, “I really need your help with Nancy and Jake. I’ll be mowing your lawn for years after this!!”

“You my man… we are all in..” Bryant responded.

After seeing Favre that night, Bryant texted New, “Just left Brett Favre. Can we help him with his project. We should meet soon to see how I can make sure we keep your projects on course.”

Favre thanked Bryant and the governor responded that he had scheduled a meeting with New and arranged a call with the White House. “This can help with our concussion project,” the governor wrote.

The court filing points out, “Again, Bryant described Prevacus as ‘our … project.’”

The next day, Martin forwarded the video of the gold bars to Vanlandingham. In it, a man intentionally displays his hand with two large rings on his pinky and ring fingers as another man in a suit bends down to open a gray safe on the floor to reveal the bars. 

Vanlandingham reviewed the video and responded, “You-Tube? FBI time?” 

The attorney representing New’s nonprofit, who wrote the latest court filing, alleged that Vanlandingham communicated with Favre and Bryant about the Ghana situation. 

“Based on information and belief, Vanlandingham spoke to Bryant concerning his investment in Ghana and its importance to Prevacus,” the filing reads.“Based on information and belief, the Prevacus funds that Vanlandingham invested in Ghana included grant funds from the State of Mississippi.”

“Good news,” Vanlandingham texted Martin on July 19, 2019. “I’m pretty good friends with the Governor and he has direct access to Stephanie Sullivan the US ambassador to Ghana. We can run communication through the Governor and get these thieves!!!!”

The latest court filing then highlights the fact that Bryant traveled to Ghana less than a month later in August 2019. Documents obtained by Mississippi Today show, however, that Bryant’s trip to Ghana and bordering Togo was planned beforehand and dealt with strengthening trade ties between Mississippi and West Africa. 

“During his remarks, he (Bryant) said, a lot of investors based in Mississippi are interested in doing business in Ghana, the reason for which he is in the country to build an economic and investment bridge to facilitate future trade,” reads a press release from the American Chamber of Commerce-Ghana.

Bryant traveled to Ghana with the CEO of a south Mississippi-based product called Sparta Mosquito Eradicator to discuss selling the company’s product to the country to deal with malaria outbreaks. Vanlandingham’s attorney George Schmidt told Mississippi Today last week that Bryant did not travel to the country on behalf of Prevacus and that the timing of the trip was a coincidence.

While Bryant was in Ghana, though, he continued to consult Favre on how to secure funds from the state welfare agency for the construction of a volleyball stadium at University of Southern Mississippi — another project at the center of the scandal.

“Taking off from Ghana so this may be my last message for a while,” Bryant texted Favre Aug. 16, 2019.

Back in the states, Vanlandingham complained to Martin that, “You have put my (sic) in a fraudulent situation with my company … I gave u company money not returned on my books.”

But Vanlandingham continued to inquire on the sale of the gold bars until Martin finally told him they’d been confiscated. The scientist finally snapped, saying, “Wow. What a joke. You got played. I’ll do fbi myself brother. … Pitiful for me to have been involved … What makes me the most furious is u never raised money for Actex. It also makes me curious to your involvement.”

“U continued to take me down satans road,” Vanlandingham said.

Yet Vanlandingham still kept hoping for something to turn around. Two days later, he texted, “I’m pretty devastated please share any progress. I’m out 120k with nothing to show for it.” 

Martin said Daniella reached out to a Greek investor who might be willing to put up the money to release the wire. “Wow!!!!” Vanlandingham responded. “Bring it home brother!!!”

Vanlandingham wired another $1,000, supposedly to match what the Greek investor planned to put up towards the closing costs. But then the heiress told Martin that the investor had backed out, and implored him to find the money himself. “If you really can please do honey because we are at the edge of closing,” Daniella said, according to a message Martin forwarded to Vanlandingham.

“So did I throw away another 1k?” Vanlandingham asked. 

When Vanlandingham asked where the money went, Martin responded that “Daniella is tired and not well.”

This went on for several more months, despite Vanlaningham’s stated connections to authorities in Ghana. The game continued even after investigators from the State Auditor’s Office began questioning Vanlandingham as part of the Mississippi welfare scandal. After New and Davis were arrested in February of 2020 on embezzlement charges partially related to the Prevacus payments, Vanlandingham and Martin were still discussing traveling to Berlin to get $300,000 for the scientist out of the Bank of Ghana.

From the texts, it’s hard to discern if Martin, who was at least initially reluctant to alert the authorities, was complicit, or if he, too, was swindled. Asked for comment for the story, Vanlandingham said he would contact his counsel but said by text that “Dons a good guy with interesting technology.”

Vanlandingham’s lawyer, Schmidt, told Mississippi Today last week that his client’s payments to the Ghana deal totaled no more than $30,000. The lawyer said he was unaware those funds originated from the welfare program.

Martin told Mississippi Today by phone last week that he’d fallen for the scam and that he never received a dime from the Ghana investor group. He couldn’t say how much in total he’d received from Vanlandingham, all of which he said he sent to Ghana, and that also he didn’t know the money potentially originated from federal grant funds earmarked for Mississippians. But when Martin finally filed a police report, he estimated his total losses at $500,000.

An incident report Martin provided to Mississippi Today shows he reported the scam to the Powell Police Department in Ohio in May of 2022 and the local police department forwarded the case through the FBI to the authorities in Ghana. “I advised Mr. Martin that this was a known scam and he would not be likely to get his money back,” reads the officer’s report.

By the end, it had gotten worse. Martin said the Ghanaians had threatened to kidnap his daughter, and forced him to max out his credit cards purchasing products like laptops and iPhones for them. The police report shows that even after Martin initially reported the incident, the scammers told him there was a warrant for his arrest and convinced him to send $40,000 to remove the warrant. Martin said he’s in $140,000 worth of credit card debt. He also said he experienced a fire in 2021 and he’s been living in the dilapidated house, exposed to the elements with no heat or water. 

“I’m totally broke,” Martin told Mississippi Today on Dec. 14.

Martin is still promoting his helmet invention and company, ACTEX, but he’s never raised the money to develop a prototype. He explained that the main reason he fell for the Ghana hoax, which went on for about three years, is his strong faith in God and the belief that he was created for a purpose.

“The way I looked at it was, God works in unusual ways. See, because ACTEX is dedicated for God’s kingdom. And it’s there to save lives and to help people. That’s part of my mission statement. So I kept thinking, ‘Well, okay.’ Because I prayed about it. (And God said), ‘Yes, this is what I want you to do.’ ‘Yes, yes, yes.’”

Martin still believes that he acted in obedience of the Lord and that “he’ll bless ACTEX and many doors will open.”

Meanwhile, the Mississippi welfare funds allegedly lost to the Ghanaians in the scam have yet to be recovered. New and her son have pleaded guilty to felonies for pushing welfare funds to Prevacus. Vanlandingham and Favre are facing civil charges. Bryant has not faced criminal or civil charges. The criminal investigation is ongoing.

The post Mississippi welfare funds wound up in a Ghanaian gold bar hoax, court filing alleges appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Only three times since the federal government began tracking the labor force participation rate in the mid-1970s have a lower percentage of eligible Mississippi workers been employed than in October.

Mississippi, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, had the lowest labor force participation rate in the nation of 53.9% in October. The national rate was more than 62%.

Mississippi’s lowest monthly labor force participation rate occurred for three consecutive months in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, said state economist Corey Miller, who spoke Monday to the Mississippi State University Stennis Institute of Government/Capitol Press Corps luncheon.

The labor force participation rate measures the number of eligible workers who are employed. A higher labor force participation rate generally means a stronger economy with more people with income to spend thus generating more tax revenue, Miller said. Since 2013, Mississippi has either been 49th or 50th among the states in labor force participation rates. Still, the October rate was troublesome, Miller said.

“Frankly, in my opinion, the rate of 53.9% is startlingly low given current economic conditions,” Miller told the lunch crowd. “While I am admittedly hypothesizing, recent data seem to indicate the lack of population growth in Mississippi is exerting downward pressure on the rate.

“If so, focusing on the lack of population growth in the state is even more paramount, as it is beginning to result in immediate negative economic impact.”

As the population ages, Miller said, fewer workers in the prime employment age (16 to 54) are available to fill the void. But the population in the prime employment age of 25 to 54 is growing nationwide by 1% while decreasing in Mississippi by 2.7%. In other words, there are fewer people in the prime employment age to participate in the workforce.

“Population is another challenge for the state to overcome that involves public policy addressing quality of life issues to ultimately generate a more robust and dynamic economy,” Miller said.

Miller said Mississippi is not unusual among surrounding states in that about 3% of its population routinely migrates out each year. The difference, he said, is that most states, unlike Mississippi, have more people migrating in than out.

Other factors that Miller said might negatively impacts Mississippi’s labor force participation rate include:

• Lower educational attainment levels.
• The state’s high incarceration rates.
• Poor health care outcomes resulting in the highest percentage of disabled people in the nation.

The lower education rates among impoverished minority populations could also be a factor since the state has the highest percentage of Black residents in the nation.

Miller conceded that many of the issues impacting Mississippi’s labor force participation rates require a long-term fix, such as improving the education attainment level. But he said a continuing focus on workforce training could help improve the work force participation rate and better child-care opportunities also might help.

The post Percentage of Mississippians working in October was among lowest in state’s history appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Hinds County election commissioners acknowledged in a public meeting on Monday that they sent the wrong document to the company that printed its ballots, resulting in several polling places not having enough ballots for voters on Nov. 7.

The commission, all of whom are elected Democrats, answered questions from a coalition of civil rights organizations on Monday about what went wrong during the statewide election and how those mistakes could be prevented in future elections. Each of the commissioners present at the meeting on Monday took responsibility for the mistake.

“It was a complete human error,” District 2 Commissioner RaToya Gilmer McGee said. “I hate that the citizens of Hinds County experienced it.”

During Mississippi’s Nov. 7 general election, several Hinds County voting precincts ran out of ballots throughout the day. The county is majority Black, Mississippi’s largest county and a Democratic Party stronghold.

People waited in line for hours to vote as local officials attempted to replenish ballots and deliver them to polling places. It’s unclear how many people left without voting or decided not to travel to polling precincts because of the confusion from the shortages.

READ MORE: Hinds County ballot shortages cause legal mess on Election Day

State law dictates that county election commissioners supply enough ballots to each polling precinct. The commissioners told the coalition and the public at Monday’s meeting that their mistake in sending the wrong documents mostly impacted “split precincts” in the county.

Split precincts exist when several political boundaries share a single polling place. Different types of ballots must be on hand at the polling precinct whenever there’s a split precinct.

Before each election, the Hinds County Election Commission accesses statewide voter data to determine how many ballots should be distributed, but it sent the wrong voter data to the company it contracted with to print the ballots. 

According to several commissioners, there are two types of polling precinct reports: a BP-008 and a BP-009. The BP-008 form discloses how many voters are registered at each precinct. The BP-009 shows how many different types of ballots are needed at each precinct.

Commissioner McGee said the commission sent the BP-008 form to the printing company, not the BP-009 form. When the commission submitted the wrong form, it caused the company to print an inadequate number of ballots for the split precincts.

While the commission acknowledged its mistake caused mass confusion during a competitive statewide election, McGee said better training from the Secretary of State’s office could have prevented the issue.

“The training needs to be different,” McGee said. “As an incoming professional woman, I feel like it was not a great training.” 

Secretary of State Michael Watson’s office trains election commissioners in each of the state’s 82 counties. Watson told Mississippi Today in a statement that his office is available to answer questions and will “gladly spend time training those who need additional help.” 

“Heading into the 2023 election, all 82 counties received the same training and resources from our office,” Watson said. “No other county experienced the issues we saw in Hinds County.”

Statewide officials have already certified the results of the Nov. 7 election, but Hinds County must conduct an election on Nov. 5, 2024, for a U.S. Senate and the presidential election, which typically attract many voters. 

Gov. Tate Reeves also called for a special election in Hinds County in November 2024 for voters to elect a Hinds County Court judge, a local election that could involve split precincts. 

District 4 Commissioner Yvonne Horton told reporters after the meeting that she believes the commission can learn from its prior mistakes and conduct the 2024 general election without widespread ballot issues. 

However, Horton was vague on what concrete steps the commission was planning to take to prevent the ballot printing error or similar errors from happening in the future. 

When asked if the commission, for example, planned to implement an accountability system for someone to review the data the commission sent to a future printing company, Horton offered a conflicting answer.

“No one has said they are going to do that, but I can assure you we are going to do that,” Horton said of an accountability system. 

The commission’s next regular meeting will occur next month after a new slate of commissioners are sworn in for a new four-year term.

READ MORE: Judge extends Hinds County precinct hours after numerous ballot problems

The post Hinds County election officials say they sent wrong voter form to ballot-printing company  appeared first on Mississippi Today.

GREENVILLE – A federal jury has convicted a former Amory High School teacher of sexually exploiting at least seven students over 10 years, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Monday.

Toshemie Wilson, 48, of Wren, Mississippi, was found guilty of eight counts of using students to produce sexually explicit material  in exchange for money and drugs, using his position as an adviser for Technology Students of America to groom students.

A former student told a counselor about the abuse. The counselor reported the information to law enforcement, prompting the investigation, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office and FBI agents uncovered at least 10 other former students who alleged similar conduct and payment for sexually explicit videos, according to the release.

Eight unnamed witnesses testified in court that Wilson approached them to make masturbation videos in exchange for pay between 2005 and 2014, according to the release. They identified a number of places he had them make the videos – the school bathroom, an office space rented specifically for this purpose, and the Amory WalMart bathroom, according to the release. Several of the witnesses stated they were induced to make videos while on out-of-town school trips with the Technology Students of America, the release said.

Following his indictment, Wilson admitted to FBI agents that he had thrown away a hard drive containing a collection of student sexual abuse materials, according to the release.

Wilson also faces a state indictment in Monroe County Circuit Court.

“Once again, hard work and perseverance by federal, state and local investigators and prosecutors has removed from society an individual with a demonstrable sexual interest in children,” U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner said in the news release. “I am extremely proud of Assistant United States Attorneys Parker King and Clyde McGee for their trial work on the case, and thankful for the investigative work of the FBI and the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office…we must all continue to prosecute these offenders to the fullest extent of the law.”

The post Federal jury convicts former Mississippi teacher of multiple counts of child exploitation appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Young people are learning about driver safety from a Jackson State University team hoping to keep them from becoming the next car crash statistic. 

“We’re reaching young people before we get to that point,” said Keith Lamont McMillian, occupation safety coordinator at the Department of Interdisciplinary Alcohol/Drug Studies Center. 

Along with Triniti Grant, a coordinator who focuses on youth impaired driving, they and other educators travel across the state to meet with young adults between the ages of 16 and 20 in schools, community organizations and events to give presentations about seat belt usage, driving under the influence and distracted driving. 

With 35 fatal crashes in 2021, Jackson had a rate of 23.4 crashes per 100,000 people, according to a MarketWatch analysis of federal traffic safety and insurance data. Looking at this rate, MarketWatch named Jackson among the most unsafe cities for drivers. 

Mississippi had 697 fatal crashes in 2021 – the highest rate in the country at 26.2 deaths per 100,000, according to the Institute for Highway Safety. Nationally, the number of motor vehicle deaths rose 18.3% between 2019 and 2022. 

McMillian said the state statistics are a sign that he and the team of educators he is part of have a lot of work to do. 

The center’s work is supported by a grant through the Mississippi Office of Highway Safety. Grant and McMillian are assigned to nearly 40 counties across the state that have the highest rates of car crashes, including Hinds County. 

Fifty-four percent of Mississippi’s crash deaths involved a single vehicle and over half of the crashes happened in rural areas, according to an analysis by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a trade group which MarketWatch cited in its analysis. 

Other contributors to fatal crashes include a lack of seat belt use and impaired driving. 

In Mississippi, 44% of car occupants killed in car crashes used a seat belt compared to 41% who did not use a seat belt, according to the analysis. The national rate of seat belt usage in 2021 was 90% compared to 80% in Mississippi. 

Of 456 drivers killed in Mississippi in 2021, 40 died with known blood alcohol content results. The analysis found that BAC was known for just 59% of all fatal car crashes, and reporting rates for BAC vary greatly across the country – 95% in Hawaii compared to 9% in Mississippi. 

Grant and McMillian said what young adults know about driver safety and the driving laws varies across the state and can be formed by the adults and peers in their lives as well as popular culture. 

He said they may not know about the financial cost of a driving related ticket or fine for speeding, not using a seat belt or texting. She said they may not be aware of the statistics of how many teenagers and young people die in car crashes. 

“The goal is to bring awareness because they don’t know,” Grant said. “The real goal is to let them know and maybe, with knowledge, it will change their approach.” 

Grant said young people can have a positive influence on their peers and set an example, like making sure that everyone has their seatbelt on before the car starts moving. 

Many high schools around the state offer driver’s education programs and there are private driver schools, but not all young people have access to them, McMillian said. He sees the center’s work as a way to bridge the gap in driver’s education. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, drivers were not required to demonstrate their driving skills through a road test to get their license. McMillian said parents have approached him at events to ask about what they can do for their child if they haven’t taken a driver’s education program.

In addition to statistics and videos in their safety education, Grant and McMillian also look for interactive ways to teach young adults about potential consequences of speeding, not using seat belts and driving while under the influence or distracted. 

There are “drunk goggles” to simulate blurry vision one would experience while driving with a high blood alcohol content. 

A creative way the center is sharing information is through a podcast called Safe Roads Mississippi, which launched in the fall. It will feature experts, people from agencies that focus on road safety and law enforcement and also highlight driving stories of young people. 

The center partners with state agencies like the Office of Highway Safety, which are able to recreate a car crash with the help of actors and local first responders. 

“Students are able to get a real life experience without it being an experience,” McMillian said. 

For more information about the Department of Interdisciplinary Alcohol/Drug Studies Center and its safe driving programs, visit https://www.jsums.edu/iadsc/ or reach out by email at  IADSC@jsums.edu or call 601-979-2276. 

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Thanks in large part to you, our readers and supporters, and to the dedicated team at Mississippi Today, the impact of our reporting continues to grow across the state, region and nation. When we first launched our nonprofit newsroom in 2016, it would have been difficult to imagine the place we find ourselves: a Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom providing Mississippians with accountability journalism that is moving the needle in our state. We are immensely proud of this impact, while also recognizing the profound responsibility to keep pushing, keep growing, and keep serving Mississippians. 

As 2023 draws to a close, we at Mississippi Today reflect on a year marked by groundbreaking journalism. Our stories delved into critical issues facing our state, from statewide elections to deeply personal accounts of injustice and resilience. We partnered with fellow newsrooms in Mississippi to bring you data-driven reporting on water quality in our state, and with national newsrooms to bring to light harrowing accounts of abuse of power and broken systems. We proudly partnered with The Atlantic to host a day-long summit on democracy, and we stayed with stories on higher education, justice and education to bring you the full picture of what is happening in Mississippi. 

This year’s achievements, punctuated by our Pulitzer Prize recognition, reinforce our commitment to delivering insightful, impactful journalism.

We thank you, our readers, for your continued support and engagement, and we look forward to bringing more essential stories in the coming year.

To learn more about this year’s top stories and our journey, please visit our 2023 recap.

The post Editor’s note: Thank you for making 2023 a year to remember appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Legislation has been introduced that would allow Mississippians who have been permanently disenfranchised because of a felony conviction to vote in federal elections.

The federal Inclusive Democracy Act, filed by Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Massachusetts, would allow all Americans convicted of a felony, including those still incarcerated, to vote in federal elections such as for president and for members of Congress. Passage of the legislation is seen as a longshot, though it represents one of many efforts centered around felony disenfranchisement laws.

“The right of citizens to United States to vote in an election for federal officed shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of conviction of a criminal offense,” the bill reads.

The legislation would not impact the lifetime ban on voting in state elections, such as for governor and legislators or for county and city offices.

Welch said in a statement announcing the introduction of the Inclusive Democracy Act: “Our democracy is at its strongest when everyone can take part in it. Yet millions of Americans are denied their right to engage in our democratic process as a result of antiquated state felony disenfranchisement laws that disproportionately impact Black Americans and women. These Jim Crow-era laws have no place in modern America.”

Mississippi is particularly relevant for the federal legislation since it is one of fewer than 10 states that still imposes a lifetime ban on voting for some people convicted of felonies. Earlier this year a three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Mississippi’s permanent ban on voting was unconstitutional because it was a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.

READ MORE: Full 5th Circuit to hear arguments on whether felony voting ban is unconstitutional

The state of Mississippi, through the office of Attorney General Lynn Fitch, appealed the ruling of the three-judge panel. In response to the state appeal, the entire 5th Circuit has prevented the ruling from taking effect and has agreed to hear the case en banc. Oral arguments before the full 5th Circuit is scheduled for Jan. 23 in New Orleans.

The decision of the 5th Circuit is likely to be appealed by the losing side to the U.S. Supreme Court. Earlier this year the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal in a separate Mississippi felony disenfranchisement case. In that case, the 5th Circuit found that Mississippi’s lifetime ban on voting was not unconstitutional even though the judges conceded that it was placed in the state’s 1890 Constitution as one of the many provisions designed to keep African Americans, then a majority in the state, from voting.

According to information compiled in 2017 by researcher Dov Rothman, there are almost 50,000 Mississippians who are permanently banned from voting because of a felony conviction. Rothman researched the issue on behalf of the Southern Poverty Law Center and those filing the lawsuit that the U.S Supreme Court refused to hear. While African Americans make up about 38% of the state’s population, they comprise 59% of those who are permanently barred from voting, according to Rothman’s research.

Framers of the 1890 Mississippi Constitution said at the time they imposed the lifetime voting ban on crimes that they believed Black Mississippians were more prone to commit.

“The plan is to invest permanently the powers of government in the hands of the people who ought to have them: the white people,” James Zachariah George, a U.S. senator who was one of the architects of the 1890 Constitution and to this day has a statue in the U.S. Capitol representing Mississippi, said at the time.

The framers did not at the time include murder and rape as disenfranchising crimes but did include lesser crimes such as burglary and bigamy.

Even today, Mississippians convicted of certain crimes do not lose their right to vote while incarcerated. For instance, a major drug dealer would not lose the right to vote, but a person convicted of livestock or timber larceny would.

“As someone whose family has been personally impacted by mass incarceration, I’m proud to partner with Sen. Welch on the Inclusive Democracy Act to ensure everyone can make their voice heard in our democracy,” Pressley said. “Momentum is growing in states across the country and Congress must follow suit by swiftly passing this crucial legislation.”

The post Bills would restore federal voting rights for Mississippians convicted of felonies appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Mississippi Today’s Bobby Harrison and Taylor Vance provide a primer of what to expect during the opening days of the pomp and circumstance of the 2024 legislative session. The session is quickly approaching, slated to begin at noon on Jan. 2.

The post Podcast: What to watch for during opening days of 2024 legislative session appeared first on Mississippi Today.

With the addition of Oklahoma and Texas, the Southeastern Conference has gifted some really tough schedules to the teams for next season.

The post Marshall Ramsey: Schedule appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The end of year holidays from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day have been particularly hard since my parents divorced. As the years passed, my dad and I rebuilt the bridge that was burned between us. Then, two years ago, he didn’t feel well on Christmas Day and left this world on New Year’s Eve. Now, the holidays are even more difficult for me to feel jolly.

I often think of the what ifs, what could have been, but this year, my focus is keeping the holidays simple, thinking of the good, and appreciating the years I had with Dad and the memories we shared.

My inspiration comes from the men and women with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism where I work at The Baddour Center. Residents deeply feel emotions and grief, yet they are a wonderful example of sharing joy, hugs, and smiles – despite their disappointment or sadness.

For instance, during the campus tours I lead, Joe tells as many people as possible brief stories about his dad and the jokes they shared. I had the pleasure of meeting “Papa Smurf” as Joe him, and he once showed me a t-shirt and told the story of a raccoon hunt that was one of the first fundraising events on our nearly 120-acres.

As part of the Advancement Team but not a hunter, I was intrigued by his story at the time and very thankful that tradition no longer continues after our 45 years of being an intentional residential community for the residents we serve; however, each time Joe shares a story of his dad to a stranger, I am reminded of how important it is to talk about the life and laughter we shared with our loved ones.

Lecy, on the other hand, visits my office frequently and starts many conversations with “Do you remember…?” Because 15 years have passed in my tenure, I normally remember exactly who she is talking about. Sometimes, it’s a memory of her daddy; other memories revolve around a resident or staff member who is no longer bound by their Earthly bodies. Nearly every conversation ends with Lecy and me agreeing “I sure miss [him/her]” and giggling about what fun was had.

Lecy’s father was “advanced in his chronological years” – as my pastor would say – by the time I met him. I knew him as a sweet-spirited, humble, Southern gentleman. It was evident the way he held Lecy’s hand how much he loved her, and he taught me a lesson each time he ambled into the building with a check in-hand, which was nearly always a memorial gift with instructions on who and where to send the acknowledgement note.

Clearly, his love extended beyond Lecy, and he made a choice to keep the deceased’s memory alive by investing in the lives of others through a donation to an organization that made an impact on his daughter’s daily life.

Christmas can be a tough holiday for some and a favorite holiday for others. May we be challenged this year to be like the men and women who call The Baddour Center home and their families.

Let’s give each other grace to process life experiences in our own way – with plenty of hugs, laughter, and patience to share with those around us. Let’s not just remember our loved ones but let’s talk about them, sharing precious memories with others who knew them. Let’s also be generous, humble givers who share with non-profit agencies, like The Baddour Center, that have had a positive impact on us or someone we love.

From all of us at The Baddour Center, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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