The Jackson bribery scandal has taken a wild turn one week before trial was set to begin, with former Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba reaching a plea agreement and former Councilman Aaron Banks notifying the court of his intent to do the same.
Both Lumumba and Banks were indicted in 2024 and initially pleaded not guilty in connection with the scandal where they were accused of taking bribes to give a favorable look at a Nashville developer’s downtown convention center hotel project. The developers, however, were undercover FBI informants.
And instead of Jackson getting a new hotel, federal authorities exposed a broader string of public corruption through bribes, private planes, strip clubs, and yachts, court records assert.
Lumumba and Banks officially notified officials in the federal courthouse in Jackson of their intent to swap pleas on Monday, one week after former Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens reached a plea agreement of his own. Lumumba was charged with one count of conspiracy, two counts of federal bribery, one count of racketeering, one count of wire fraud, and one count of money laundering. Banks faced one count of conspiracy and two counts of federal bribery.
The former mayor faced up to 75 years in prison for the charges levied against him, though he now faces up to five years after pleading his case down to conspiracy. Owens, likewise, was facing a lengthy stint behind bars, but also worked his maximum sentence down drastically. As for Banks, an official plea agreement has not yet been reached.
All three men were set to go to trial on July 13, but now that two have reached agreements and another is likely to be inked in the near future, the next move by the court will likely be sentencing. Owens has already been scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 15.
As the legal process has played out in this case, Lumumba and Owens notably alleged political prosecution and shoddy investigative practices by the FBI. Others involved in the scandal include former Jackson Councilwoman Angelique Lee and businessman Sherik Marve Smith, who is Owens’ cousin. Lee and Smith pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme in 2024.
Lumumba assumed office as Jackson’s mayor in July 2017 and remained in office despite the charges against him. He was ultimately unseated by former state Rep. John Horhn last summer. Banks, on the other hand, decided not to run for reelection in 2024 and had his post taken over by now-Ward 6 Councilwoman Lashia Brown-Thomas.
Sentencing dates have not yet been announced for Lumumba and Banks.
