State Auditor Shad White on Monday released a report showing taxpayer funds spent on what he called “alarming” and questionable expenses by nonprofit organizations receiving government grants from the Mississippi Department of Health.

The grants were primarily intended to test Mississippians for HIV-AIDS. Funds were used for a “Queerceañera” — described as a “LatinX pride month event that highlights LGBTQ LatinX and Indigenous community members” — beer, “diva brunches,” and other similar expenses.

“It’s almost like our government hates us,” said White. “This kind of spending defies all common sense, and is an insult to hardworking taxpayers.”

Each year, the federal government sends hundreds of millions of dollars to Mississippi state agencies, which they then pass on to nonprofits. Over the past five years, MSDH was charged with using some of those dollars to decrease HIV infections.

To achieve the goal, MSDH gave three nonprofits more than $853,000 between 2020 and 2025. During that time, those nonprofits only administered 35 HIV tests. Instead, funds were spent in the following ways:

• The Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity (IAJE) was given
  • $17,380.19 for hosting a “Queerceanera.” Of that, they spent $327.36 on Bud Light and Coronita beer, $2,500 on gift cards for “Queerceanera” attendees, and $14,126.84 on the venue, food, supplies, DJ, photographer, and travel for the event.
  • $699.79 for 19 spa gift baskets “for women” from Amazon.
  • $137.79 for five Lyft rideshares in New York City at 10:12 pm and 4:08 am on 4-5 March 2023, which included a two-hour stop at “the longest running lesbian bar in the country.”
  • $82.50 for dinner at a “restaurant in Baltimore” despite the receipt address being for a tobacco/vape store.
• Love Inside for Everyone (LIFE, Inc) was given
  • $4,000 to cover rental fees for a nightclub (run by the nonprofit’s director) to host monthly “diva brunches”
  • Over $90,000 with no receipts or supporting documentation provided to the Department of Health
  • Funds to host Gay Pride Weekend in Jackson, MS, in 2023
• Love Me Unlimited 4 Life was given over $140,000, which they spent entirely on salaries with a requirement to hire people who identify “as Gender Non-Conformant (GNC), Aged 17-34 that are People with HIV (PWH), members of the LGBTQIA community, and/or at risk for acquiring HIV.”

“This past legislative session, Mississippi State Senate leadership passed a bill through committee that specifically deleted my office’s ability to investigate nonprofits receiving less than $10 million in taxpayer funds,” said White. “I’m glad the bill failed, because clearly these nonprofits need to be scrutinized. This waste of taxpayer funds must stop.”

Monday afternoon, State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney responded to White’s report and comments.

“The Mississippi State Department of Health takes the findings of State Auditor Shad White seriously and recognizes that there were issues in the oversight of certain grants related to HIV/AIDS prevention. We agree that the lapses identified are unacceptable and not reflective of our agency’s standards or mission,” Edney said in a statement. “Even prior to this report, MSDH had taken decisive action to strengthen oversight and accountability. This includes a leadership overhaul in the affected program nearly a year ago and the launch of a comprehensive agency-wide reform to modernize and tighten our grants management and compliance processes.”

Edney said White’s concerns involve agreements from the past — “None of the nonprofits cited in the report currently have active grants or contracts with MSDH to continue these activities. Today, our leadership is committed to a culture of accountability, transparency and measurable results.”

“Since I was appointed State Health Officer, we have been actively working on improvements to create a culture of compliance while identifying inefficiencies and areas of risk to improve how MSDH serves the public,” said Edney. “As part of this effort, we have strengthened our infrastructure to support grants management with clear deliverables, accountability and comprehensive oversight across both federal and state programs.”

The director stressed it is important to underscore that the findings do not reflect the value of many nonprofit partners MSDH continues to work with.

“Our Internal Audit division will continue to partner with the Office of the State Auditor,” Edney said. “We are using this moment as a catalyst to implement meaningful improvements in how we operate. We appreciate the Auditor’s attention to this matter and are fully committed to ensuring rigorous oversight of public health funds.”