Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment this week against several Mississippi Democrats over an alleged bribery scheme to enrich themselves.
The indictment, unsealed on Thursday in the Southern District of Mississippi, charged Hinds County District Attorney Jody E. Owens II, 43; Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, 41; and former President and current member of the Jackson City Council Aaron Banks, 47, of allegedly participating in the bribery scheme.
Prosecutors said in a statement:
As alleged in the indictment, between approximately October 2023 and May 2024, Owens facilitated bribe payments to public officials in Jackson on behalf of two FBI undercover employees posing as real estate developers (the Developers) in exchange for at least $115,000 and the promise of future financial benefit. Owens instructed the Developers that, for their project to succeed, they needed to secure the support of certain public officials in Jackson through bribery. Those public officials included Mayor Lumumba, Councilman Banks, and former Jackson City Councilwoman Angelique Lee. Owens instructed the Developers how much, where, and when to bribe those officials.
They said that the mayor accepted a $50,000 bribe from the developers in exchange for official actions that he took to advance their project.
Prosecutors alleged that the money was then laundered through Lumumba’s campaign before he cashed out his account.
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They alleged that Councilman Banks solicited a $50,000 bribe in exchange for his support for the project.
Jackson City Councilwoman Angelique Lee pled guilty in the scheme several months ago for allegedly accepting “a $10,000 debt repayment, $3,000 in cash, and a shopping trip worth approximately $6,000 in luxury goods in exchange for her votes in support of the Developers’ proposed development project in downtown Jackson.”
The news comes after the FBI raided a cigar business owned by Owens in May. Owens is backed by Democrat megadonor George Soros.
Owens was charged with conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, honest services wire fraud, and money laundering; three counts of federal program bribery; using a facility in interstate commerce in furtherance of unlawful activity; honest services wire fraud, money laundering; and lying to federal officers.
“The indictment alleges that Jackson’s mayor, the district attorney in Jackson, and members of Jackson’s city council conspired to accept bribes in exchange for official acts benefiting purported real estate developers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Officials who abuse their positions of authority to enrich themselves undermine public confidence in government. The Justice Department is committed to restoring that confidence by working with its law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute public corruption.”
Lumumba was charged with conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, honest services wire fraud, and money laundering; federal program bribery; using a facility in interstate commerce in furtherance of unlawful activity; honest services wire fraud, and money laundering.
Banks was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, honest services wire fraud, and money laundering; and one count of federal program bribery.
