Mississippi welfare agency ex-director faces new charges

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A former Mississippi Department of Human Services director has been indicted on 20 additional felony charges. They are tied to allegations that John Davis participated in misusing money that was supposed to help some of the poorest people in the nation. Davis led the agency from 2016 to 2019. He has pleaded not guilty to the new charges of bribery, conspiracy and making false statements to the government. The indictments were unsealed this week, days after he entered the plea. In early 2020, Davis and five others were charged in what the state auditor called the largest corruption case in Mississippi in decades.