Jacob VanLandingham, director of neurobiological research at the Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare Neuroscience Center, and assistant professor of the Florida State University College of Medicine, testifies before the Senate Special Committee on Aging June 25, 2014 in Washington, DC.Win McNamee/Getty Images
Biotech executive Jacob VanLandingham pleaded guilty Wednesday (July 24) to one count of wire fraud after allegedly improperly using welfare funds intended to develop a concussion drug in the largest public corruption case in the history of the state of Mississippi.
The Associated Press quoted US District Court Jackson records, saying that VanLandingham entered the plea deal but did not immediately set the date for the sentencing.
If proven guilty, VanLandingham might be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Aside from VanLandingham, former Mississippi Human Services director John Davis and other people also pleaded guilty to charges of misspending money from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program.
It is understood that the lawsuit against VanLandingham was filed by the Mississippi Department of Human Services, alleging that the $2.1 million worth of welfare money paid for stock in his Florida-based companies, Prevacus and PreSolMD, for welfare nonprofit groups ran by mother-and-son duo Nancy and Zachary New.
According to prosecutors, the New family-owned Mississippi Community Education Center provided about $1.9 million, which included federal money from the TANF program, to Prevacus, purportedly in order to fund the development of a pharmaceutical concussion treatment.
However, prosecutors said in a bill of information that VanLandingham allegedly misused a "substantial" amount of the funds "for his personal benefit," which included "gambling and paying off personal debts."
Ex-NFL Player Brett Favre Also Under Fire
Meanwhile, former NFL player Brett Favre was also mentioned in the state Human Services lawsuit, naming him Prevacus's "largest individual outside investor."
While not charged of any wrongdoing, the former NFL player said that he donated around $1 million of his own money into VanLandringham's firms. He also remains to be a defendant in a civil lawsuit for a separate case involving a volleyball facility that was built at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi.
ESPN reported that Favre, a Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback who played in 20 NFL seasons, was a former business associate of VanLandingham.
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