Former educator, 69, pleaded guilty to four counts each of bribing public officials, two counts against fraud against the government and six counts each of wire fraud, racketeering, and two counts of fraud. The maximum sentence for her is 99 years. There are 25 years to serve. State prosecutors recommended that Nancy New be sentenced by the state judge until she is sentenced in her separate federal case. This sentence should not exceed ten years. Then, sentence Nancy to a concurrent sentence of equal or less time. State prosecutors have recommended that Nancy New spend her entire sentence in federal prison, and not serve any additional time for state charges. In the federal case, she pleaded guilty to one count for money laundering. This carries a maximum sentence that can be up to ten years. Zach New, 39, was the vice president of his mother’s nonprofit. He pleaded guilty the same charges except for racketeering, and one wire fraud. The maximum sentence for New is 75 years with 17 years to serve. The same deal was offered by the state prosecutors to him, which would allow him to serve the time he is sentenced in his separate federal case. In the federal case, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud. He is currently serving a maximum of five years in prison. Nancy and Zach New agreed to cooperate and testify in the federal case against conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Sources close to the investigation say that both federal and state criminal investigations are ongoing. This could lead to additional charges against others. The state plea agreement means that the News will be serving any sentence they get in federal prison instead of Mississippi’s notoriously harsh state prisons. The News could also pay $3.6 million in restitution under the plea deal. This is because their state trial wasn’t scheduled to begin for at least three months. The petitions they filed Friday contain new information about their involvement in the bribery of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, which is the state’s safety net agency. The News also swindled the Mississippi Department of Human Services and the Mississippi Department of Education of public education funds. The News managed the Mississippi Community Education Center, a nonprofit organization that received federal grant funds in excess of tens of million as a subgrantee of Mississippi Department of Human under the supervision of John Davis (then-welfare director). Three wire fraud charges stem from financial transfers made by the News to the non-profit to New Learning Resources, a private for-profit school district in Florida, and then to Prevacus, a Florida drug company. They also made transfers directly from Prevacus to the nonprofit. The Mississippi Today’s “The Backchannel”, an investigation into text messages, revealed that the owner of the company and ex-NFL quarterback Brett Favre offered the former governor money for welfare. Phil Bryant received company stock in return for Bryant’s assistance when he was governor. Mississippi Today reported that Bryant seemed to have accepted the offer by text. Favre also mentioned in text messages to Bryant that the company was being funded by the state and Nancy New. Bryant replied positively. Bryant responded positively. Two million dollars in federal grant money was stolen from the companies. READ MORE: Phil Bryant wanted a payout to Brett Favre as welfare funds flowed through him. In 2017, the News made an “off-the-books” purchase of a GMC Yukon in black for Davis, the director of the state welfare agency, and two other senior executives, at their request, to encourage them to continue funding the nonprofit with agency funds. Davis faces additional charges in connection to the scheme, which he has pleaded not guilty to. The News also hired WWE wrestler Brett DiBiase for a $250,000 salary. Davis’ nephew Austin Smith was also employed by the News. Davis had unrestricted access the nonprofit’s credit cards. The News also fraudulently transferred $1.2 million to Victory Sports Foundation. Paul Lacoste, a local football player, knew that the foundation was not eligible for funds. They also paid $4 million to construct a volleyball stadium. Another count of wire fraud concerns the construction of a virtual reality centre in downtown Jackson. This lease was also disguised by the News. At one time, the nonprofit sent $3,000 to Davis. He distributed it to “Law of 16”, a professional development presentation by Ted “Teddy” DiBiase Jr. who has collected more than $3,000,000 in welfare funds. Nancy New’s racketeering offense, which was not included in Zach New’s guilty plea relates to her and Davis’s transfer of money from her nonprofit into a California rehab facility, where Brett DiBiase was being treated. Nancy was also charged with wire fraud for the $40,000 purchase of children’s books that she made.