A federal indictment released Thursday revealed the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged the Jackson, Mississippi, mayor, two council members, and the district attorney with conspiracy, bribery, fraud, and money laundering.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri reported in a DOJ press release that the charges are tied to alleged acts involving a real estate development scheme.
“Officials who abuse their positions of authority to enrich themselves undermine public confidence in government,” Argentieri said. “The Justice Department is committed to restoring that confidence by working with its law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute public corruption.”
The alleged scheme involved Jackson city officials accepting money from FBI agents posing as real estate developers. The indictment paints Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens as the ring-leader of the operation, claiming he facilitated large payments from the “developers” to public officials for access to a federally subsidized development project in downtown Jackson.
The indictment alleges that Owens first met agents in August 2023. In October of that year, Owens flew to Nashville with “the developers” on a private jet paid for by the FBI. Prosecutors claim during that meeting Owens said he and colleague Sherik Smith “own enough of the city,” and had “a bag of…information on all the city councilmen,” which allowed them to sway council votes.
In December 2023 Owens flew on a private jet to Florida, where he and Smith accepted $125,000 from investigators. In January Owens allegedly involved Jackson council President Aaron Banks and former council vice president Angelique Lee. Banks ultimately received $25,000 from agents, as well as payments for a protective detail and employment for a family member. Prosecutors state Lee accepted $10,000 to pay off campaign debt, $3,000 in cash, and over $6,000 in luxury goods.
In February prosecutors allege Owens introduced the “developers” to Mayor Chokwe Lumumba. In March agents gave Owens $50,000 to deliver to Lumumba and the following month, and the two flew with agents to Florida, where parties agreed to break the payment into five equal amounts and conceal the money as campaign contribution checks.
Prosecutors allege that in May, the FBI met with Owens to ask about his involvement in the bribery scheme and made false statements during the interview.
Throughout the investigation, Owens is alleged to have told agents things like, “I don’t [care] where the money comes from. … My job … is to get this deal done. … That’s why we have a business, [t]o clean money, right?” and “we got to stay away from the b-word. Fund is not the b-word. The b-word is a bad word. We don’t even say it.”
Owens, Lumumba, Banks, and Lee each face multiple counts of bribery, conspiracy, fraud, and money laundering. Owens and Lumumba each face three charges with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
