FORMER WWE wrestler Ted DiBiase Jr is facing a whopping 185 YEARS behind bars.
Nicknamed ‘The Fortunate Son’, the 43-year-old’s dad is wrestling hall-of-famer Ted DiBiase Sr – a star of the 70s and 80s.
And Ted Jr was successful in his own right, making it to the WWE roster between 2008 and 2013.
But he is now staring down the barrel of a mammoth sentence while battling what is being described as the largest public corruption case in Mississippi history.
DiBiase Jr is accused of “misappropriating millions of dollars” of federal funds intended for the most vulnerable residents in the state.
It is alleged that DiBiase Jr’s companies received federal welfare funds from the Emergency Food Assistance Program and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
The scheme is said to have been facilitated by former Mississippi Department of Human Services director John Davis, who pled guilty to his charges and was sentenced to 32 years in prison.
Prosecutors argue that DiBiase Jr used the misappropriated funds for the down payment on a $1.4million (£1.05m) home, a $55,000 (£41,000) boat, a $40,000 (£30,000) truck and a $34,000 (£25,000) tractor.
The raft of charges brought against DiBiase Jr include money laundering, theft, wire fraud and conspiracy.
The overall scandal involves $77m (£58m) in misappropriated funds, with DiBiase Jr alleged to have received $3m (£2m).
If found guilty, the ex-WWE star, who retired from wrestling in 2020, could be handed an eye-watering 185-year sentence.
The scandal has implicated a number of other high-profile figures but DiBiase Jr is the only one contesting his charges.
A judge dismissed his lawyers’ motion to dismiss his most serious charges after the prosecution rested their case on Tuesday.
The case is now in its final stages as DiBiase Jr waits to discover his fate.
