There have been several wrestling stars who spent significant time in prison when they were young, only to turn their lives around and find an outlet in professional wrestling when they were released. That’s exactly what happened to Booker T and MVP, for example. Then there are those wrestlers who had it all and lost it due to a lengthy jail sentence. Brett DiBiase falls into his own category. You know his father, the WWE Hall of Famer, Ted DiBiase, and although Brett followed in his dad’s footsteps, his wrestling career didn’t pan out. Instead, Brett’s name is in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, as he is facing up to five years in prison for a fraud and embezzlement scheme which also threatens to take down his brother, Ted DiBiase Jr. The trial was originally scheduled for next week but was postponed to 2026 amid new evidence.
Brett DiBiase’s WWE Career Didn’t Last Long
- Brett DiBiase started his WWE career in Florida Championship Wrestling.
- He showed up twice on WWE TV during Randy Orton’s feud with John Cena.
- DiBiase had to retire due to multiple knee injuries.
Ted DiBiase Sr. may have never been a WWE Champion, but he became a legend in the company thanks to his time as “The Million Dollar Man”, one of the top heels of the 1980s. His three sons followed him into the sport, but only Ted Jr. had any notable success.
Mike DiBiase had a decent indie run in the 2000s, but he never made it to WWE and retired in 2009. Things were different for the youngest son, Brett DiBiase. He actually did make it to the WWE at just the age of 20, debuting in their then developmental system, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), in 2008. He had matches against the likes of Dolph Ziggler and the future Shawn Spears, and he can even say that he once beat Sheamus. Along with another son of a legend, Joe Hennig, he also became an FCW Tag Team Champion, before the duo lost their titles to the up-and-coming Usos.
Brett DiBiase made two appearances on WWE TV in 2009 during Randy Orton’s feud with John Cena. With Orton being the leader of The Legacy, which also consisted of Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr., Brett showed up as a fan plant during the SummerSlam WWE Championship match between Orton and Cena, attacking Cena right before he was about to make the Viper tap out. On the following Raw, he was seen with The Legacy backstage. But just like that, Brett was gone. After going back to FCW, he suffered multiple knee injuries and was released from his contract a few years later.
Brett DiBiase Pleaded Guilty To Federal Charges Involving A Welfare Scandal
- He was arrested and charged with embezzlement and fraud.
- He was also charged with conspiracy to defraud the government.
- Brett DiBiase faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Wrestling fans forgot about Brett DiBiase (if they ever remembered him in the first place), but his name came back up in 2020 thanks to the highly publicized welfare scandal in Mississippi that also included NFL great and former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre. In February 2020, Brett DiBiase, who had been investigated for eight months, was arrested and charged with embezzlement and fraud. Between DiBiase and others implicated, millions of dollars that was supposed to be given to help the poor in Mississippi was instead embezzled to enrich those accused.
In December 2020, DiBiase pleaded guilty to the charges against him. According to WLBT:
DiBiase is alleged to have conspired with others to defraud the Mississippi Department of Human Services.
DiBiase was paid $48,000 acting as the business Restore2, LLC, using a series of fraudulent and false claims to receive payment. He’s also accused of helping cover up these payments by falsifying documents, invoices, books, reports and ledgers.
Investigators say former DHS workers created invoices to pay DiBiase for teaching classes about drug abuse, but he did not do that and instead was at a luxury rehab facility in California.
Brett DiBiase agreed to pay back the money he took as part of the plea. However, over two years later he found himself in federal court, where he pleaded guilty again, this time to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the government. As of this writing, Brett DiBiase has yet to be sentenced, but he faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Ted DiBiase Jr. Faces An Even Longer Prison Stay
- Ted DiBiase Sr. was ordered to pay back misappropriated funds given to his church.
- Ted DiBiase Jr. pleaded not guilty to wire fraud, theft, and money laundering.
- Ted Jr. faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted.
Brett DiBiase isn’t the only member of his family in trouble. Both his father and older brother, Ted Jr., have also been implicated. In 2021, Ted Sr., who is a minister, was ordered to pay back over $700,000 in misappropriated funds given to his church. It was also reported by the Mississippi Office of State Auditor that the Family Resource Center, which gets welfare grants, gave him $250,000 to be a motivational speaker.
Unlike Brett, who took responsibility for his actions, Ted Sr. told News 4 in Jacksonville:
“All of that is a bunch of garbage… If I didn’t have a celebrity name they wouldn’t even be looking at me.”
Things are even more serious for Ted DiBiase Jr., who was indicted in 2023 by the U.S. Department of Justice on charges of wire fraud, theft, and money laundering. Doing the opposite of his brother, Ted Jr. decided to plead not guilty. If he is convicted on all charges, he faces up to 45 years behind bars. Compared to what might happen to his older sibling, Brett DiBiase is in a way less serious situation.
