FILE - Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba watches a debate at the Mississippi Capitol on Feb. 7, 2023, in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
- The former city officials’ guilty pleas in the U.S. District Court for Southern Mississippi come a week after former Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens changed his plea in the federal case against the three.
Former mayor Chokwe Lumumba (D) and former city councilman Aaron Banks (D) changed their pleas in federal court Monday to guilty in the Jackson bribery scandal ahead of the start of their trial, which was to begin July 13.
Lumumba and Banks plead guilty to conspiracy.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan III had previously ordered any defendant wishing to change a plea to do so by late May. Both Lumumba and Banks had previously pled not guilty.
The former city officials’ guilty pleas in the U.S. District Court for Southern Mississippi come a week after former Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens (D) changed his plea in the federal case against the three.
Owens pled guilty to one count of conspiracy and resigned from office. He now faces up to five years in prison, as well as up to $250,000 in fines and three years of supervised release.
READ MORE: Hinds County DA Jody Owens pleads guilty in Jackson bribery case, resigns from office
Lumumba was facing various charges which included wire fraud, money laundering and bribery. Banks was charged with conspiracy and bribery.
Lumumba, Banks, and Owens were indicted in October 2024. As previously reported, the case centered on two FBI confidential assets posing as real estate developers. The pair sought support for a proposed hotel near the Jackson Convention Complex. Prosecutors alleged the purported developers used private plane travel, cash payments, campaign checks and other benefits, which included a trip to a famous Miami area strip club, to secure official action from Jackson officials.
Former Jackson City Councilwoman Angelique Lee was the first public official charged in the investigation. She pleaded guilty in August 2024 after admitting she accepted bribes from undercover FBI operatives posing as developers in exchange for her support of the hotel project. Lee resigned from the City Council the day of her plea.
The indictment against Owens, Lumumba and Banks alleged that payments to Lumumba included five $10,000 campaign contribution checks delivered during a yacht trip off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Prosecutors said the checks were made to appear as though they came from Mississippi donors. According to the indictment, Lumumba accepted the checks in exchange for agreeing to move up the deadline for a request for qualifications connected to the hotel project. Prosecutors alleged Lumumba called a city employee while on the yacht and directed that the RFQ deadline be changed. The indictment also alleged Owens received $50,000 in cash during the Florida trip for his role in facilitating the payment to Lumumba.
Federal prosecutors further alleged Owens facilitated payments to Banks and Lee. In February 2024, according to court filings, the undercover operatives gave Owens $60,000 in cash, including $25,000 for Owens, $25,000 for Banks and $10,000 for Lee. Prosecutors said Owens told the operatives he would store Banks’ and Lee’s money in a safe at the Hinds County District Attorney’s Office. That same day, according to the indictment, Owens gave Banks an envelope containing $10,000 in cash. Prosecutors also alleged Banks accepted protective services and employment for a family member in connection with the scheme.
Owens, Lumumba and Banks had repeatedly sought to have the case against them dismissed or separated, raising arguments that included entrapment, government misconduct, venue concerns and requests for separate trials.
Frank Corder
