Ted DiBiase Jr. has been cleared of all fraud charges.
A jury has found him not guilty of any wrongdoing in the Mississippi’s welfare fraud scandal case.
The Clarion Ledger reports that the jury deliberated “for approximately four hours before returning the not guilty verdict”.
Dibiase has been accused of stealing millions of dollars which was supposed to be used for social services in Mississippi. He faced 20 years in prison on each count of wire fraud, 10 years on each count of theft and money laundering and five years for conspiracy. If convicted on all 13 charges he could have been sentenced to 120 years in prison.
DiBiase had maintained his innocence and is the only plaintiff named in the fraud scandal who challenged the charges.
The prosecution had claimed that co-conspirator, John Davis, the former director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, awarded approximately $3 million from the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to DiBiase and that his shell corporations were received that money through phony contracts.
Davis has already pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 32 years in prison. DiBiase’s brother, Brett, also pleaded guilty and now faces five years in prison. The case, which is still being investigated, spans 38 suspects and $24 million of government money misused and mishandled.
Upon being cleared of the charges, a tearful DiBiase said to ABC 16 WAPT News: “They got it right! I give all the glory to God! I give all the credit to my Lord and Savior!”.
He praised his legal team for “portaying the truth”.
“Seven years of being slandered and made to be something that is completely false almost tore my family apart but we are strong. There is so much family that has come around us. I am proud that we have walked through it and I am so thankful that it is over,” he also said.
Ted DiBiase Jr. wrestled in the WWE from 2007 to 2013 as part of the Legacy faction with Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes. He was also the Million Dollar Champion. Dibiase Jr. is the son of WWE legend Ted “Million Dollar Man” Dibiase.
