Bribery charges against Mississippi’s mayor, prosecutor and assemblyman

JACKSON, ma’am. – The mayor of the capital of MississippiThe top prosecutor in the state’s largest county and a member of the Jackson City Council have been indicted on conspiracy and bribery charges in a case that has already led to the resignation of another council member, according to federal court documents filed Thursday have been released.

The charges against Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens and Jackson City Council Member Aaron B. Banks were filed after two people working for the FBI posed as real estate developers looking to build a hotel near the convention center in the city center. Jackson and made payments to officials, including $50,000 for the mayor’s re-election campaign, according to court documents.

Lumumba, Jody Owens and Banks were scheduled to make their first appearance before a magistrate judge on Thursday.

Lumumba released a video statement on Wednesday saying he had been charged, calling it a “political persecution” aimed at damaging his 2025 re-election campaign.

“I have been informed by my legal team that federal prosecutors have in fact indicted me on bribery and related charges,” said Lumumba, an attorney. “To be clear, I have never accepted bribes of any kind. As mayor, I have always acted in the best interests of the city of Jackson.”

The Associated Press left a phone message for Owens’ attorney, Thomas Gerry Bufkin, on Thursday. Federal court documents did not immediately list an attorney for Banks.

Lumumba and Banks were elected in mid-2017. Owens was elected in 2019 and took office in 2020. All three are Democrats.

Member of the Jackson City Council Angelica Leea Democrat, first elected in 2020, resigned in August and pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges as a result of the same FBI investigation. Her sentencing is scheduled for November 13.

In May, FBI agents raided Owens’ office and a cigar bar he owns in downtown Jackson. Among the items found in the district attorney’s office was a key box that looked like a book labeled the U.S. Constitution, containing approximately $20,000 in cash, with approximately $9,900 showing serial numbers confirming it had been used by the alleged developers had been paid to Owens, according to the recently unsealed indictment.

Owens boasted to the alleged developers that he had influence over Jackson officials and “facilitated more than $80,000 in bribes” to Lumumba, Banks and Lee in exchange for their agreement to secure approval of the multimillion-dollar downtown development, the indictment said. The document also says Owens solicited and accepted “at least $115,000 in cash and promises of future financial benefits” from the alleged developers to leverage his relationships with Lumumba, Banks and Lee and act as an intermediary for the payments to them .

Lumumba instructed a city employee to push back a deadline in favor of the alleged developers’ project, and Banks and Lee agreed to vote in favor, according to the indictment unsealed Thursday.

Sherik Marve Smith — an insurance broker and relative of Owens, according to court documents — waived charges and pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge in the case on Oct. 17. 19.

Smith conspired to give cash payments and campaign contributions to two Jackson elected officials, and the money came from the alleged developers working for the FBI, according to court documents.

Owens, Lumumba, Smith and the alleged developers traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on a private jet paid for by the FBI in April, according to the newly unsealed indictment. During a meeting on a yacht that was audio and video recorded, Lumumba received five campaign checks for $10,000 each, and he called a city of Jackson employee and instructed that person to set a deadline for submitting proposals to purchase the property to be developed near the conference center. , the complaint said. The deadline was pushed back in a way to benefit alleged developers working for the FBI by likely eliminating their competition, the indictment said.

The mayor said his legal team will “vigorously defend me against these allegations.”

“We believe this is a political persecution against me designed to destroy my credibility and reputation within the community,” Lumumba said.