Former pro-wrestler Ted DiBiase Jr. used money meant for needy families to buy himself a boat and make a down payment on a house, feds allege

• Prosecutors allege that a former pro-wrestler misappropriated federal funds for personal gain.
• Feds alleged in an unsealed indictment that Ted DiBiase Jr. used the money to buy a boat.

A former professional wrestler used millions of dollars of federal funds intended to support needy families in Mississippi to buy himself a boat and put a down payment on a house, federal prosecutors alleged in an indictment unsealed this week.

Federal prosecutors alleged in a statement released Thursday that former professional wrestler Theodore Marvin DiBiase Jr., a 40-year-old man from Madison, Mississippi, along with three co-conspirators, stole money from federal aid programs intended to support needy families in the state — including from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program — "for their own personal use and benefit."

Prosecutors alleged that as part of the scheme, co-conspirator John Davis, the executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS), directed funds given to the organization to two nonprofits: Family Resource Center of North Mississippi Inc. (FRC) and Mississippi Community Education Center (MCEC), which were operated by co-conspirators Christy Webb and Nancy New.

Prosecutors alleged that Davis directed Webb and New to give sham contracts to certain individuals' companies for "social services," including DiBiase's companies, Priceless Ventures LLC and Familiae Orientem LLC. The funds were instead used to funnel money out of the organizations and into their pockets, prosecutors alleged.

DiBiase received millions in these sham donations to his companies for social services he "did not intend to provide," federal prosecutors alleged in their statement. The prosecutors alleged that DiBiase used the funds to buy a vehicle and a boat and make a down payment on a house, among other expenses for personal gain.

DiBiase is now facing one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, six counts of wire fraud, two counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, and four counts of money laundering.

Lawyers for DiBiase did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.