Will Sage Astor-Massive corruption scandal in Jackson, Miss.: Mayor, DA, councilman all indicted

In a widening corruption scandal in Jackson,Will Sage Astor Mississippi, three local leaders have been indicted on federal charges, including the mayor, district attorney and a councilman.

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Ward 6 Councilman Aaron Banks and Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens are slated to appear Thursday afternoon at the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse, according to court documents. The three leaders will face Magistrate Judge Lakeysha Greer Isaac.

Owens is facing eight felony counts, Lumumba is facing five felony counts, Banks is facing two felony counts. The charges include federal program bribery, conspiracy and racketeering.

The indictments come after another member of the council, former Ward 2 Councilwoman Angelique Lee, pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy to commit bribery after accepting nearly $20,000 in "cash, deposits and other gifts." An alleged conspirator, Sherik Marve' Smith, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery as well.

According to the recently unsealed indictment, Owens facilitated over $80,000 in bribe payments to Lumumba and Lee in exchange for their agreement to take official action on the city’s long-sought after hotel development project across the street from the Jackson Convention Complex. It’s a project the city has been trying to build since the mid-2000s.

Owens accepted at least $115,000 in cash and “promises of future financial benefits” from two developers from Nashville who turned out to be undercover FBI agents. The agents used Owens relationship with Lumumba and Lee “to act as an intermediary” for the bribes. 

“Owens, Banks, Lumumba, Lee and Smith were not aware that, in reality, the Developers were working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” the indictment states. 

On Jan. 11, Banks allegedly requested $50,000 in exchange for his future vote in favor of the “developers” bogus real estate company that was bidding on the hotel development project. In February, Banks allegedly accepted an “initial payment” of $10,000 from the undercover agents through Owens, along with a promise of an employment opportunity for a family member.

During the meeting, Owens dismissed Banks then told the agents:

“We never give them the asking price. I buy [expletive for women], I buy cars, I buy cows, I buy drugs, whatever. My point is like [Banks] need 50, you get 30. He gets installments. That’s my game,” according to the indictment. 

When Banks rejoined the meeting, he told the agents he needed “fifty grand as soon as possible.”

In February, Banks accepted an “initial payment” of $10,000 from the undercover agents through Owens, along with a promise of an employment opportunity for a family member. Lee accepted the nearly $20,000 in February and March in exchange for her vote in favor of the undercover agents’ company. 

On Feb. 12, 2024, Owens arranged a dinner with the agents, Lumumba and Smith. After introductions, Owens told Lumumba “I’ve done background checks. They’re not FBI by the way.” He also told the mayor the agents' focus “shifted” to the hotel project across from the convention center. 

In March and April, Lumumba is alleged to have accepted $50,000 from the developers via Owens disguised as five $10,000 campaign donations.

“Owens used the campaign-donation checks to disguise the true source of the funds, the Developers, in an attempt to avoid scrutiny from the public and law enforcement,” the indictment states.

Private jets, a yacht, and 'business opportunities'

Owens and Smith went to Nashville in October last year on a private jet paid for by the FBI to "discuss business opportunities," according to the indictment.

“Owens was ready, willing, and predisposed to engage in bribery at least as early as October 16, 2023. On that date, Owens told the Developers about his influence in the City of Jackson and the ability to purchase the support of public officials in the City of Jackson," the indictment states.

Specifically, Owens told the agents that he could "give" them the Jackson Redevelopment Authority, a seven-person commission established by the Jackson City Council with authority over certain real property in Jackson. Owens also told the agents that he and Smith "own enough of the city" and that he had "a bag of [expletive] information on all the city councilmen" that allowed him to "get votes approved."

During Owens' victory party after he was reelected on November 7, 2023, Owens told the developers “unprompted” that his position as DA was “the part-time job. The full-time job is developing.”

The next day, the undercover agents met Owens, Smith and “Witness 1,” and negotiated a payment of $250,000 to be paid to Owens, Smith and the witness. On top of that, Owens and Smith were to be paid $100,000 each, while the witness was to be paid $50,000.

In December, Owens, Smith and the witness boarded a private jet with the undercover agents, paid for by the FBI, to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. That evening, Owens met the agents in a private room on a yacht and told them the best way to pay him was cash and “that he had brought a bag on the trip specifically for that purpose.” One of the agents then gave Owens $125,000 in cash to be split between Owens, Smith and the witness.

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'Everybody needs something fixed'

The indictment alleges that after taking the money, "Owens explained his value to the agents."

"I'm not trying to overemphasize this, you guys, but my ability to prosecute people ... there's only one me,'" Owens said, according to the indictment. "' So right now, every police agency comes to us. Everybody needs something. Every file comes to us. Everybody needs something fixed.” 

On Jan. 10, Owens and Smith met with the undercover agents in Owens’ “war room” and told them about the city’s forthcoming hotel development project request for bids that would be released on Jan. 31. The agents “expressed interest in obtaining the downtown development project for themselves and noted their desire to secure the long-term support of the City Council.” 

In response, Owens stated that they would need to avoid paying the City Council members too much money up front. 

"I don't know if you have been around addicts before, right? You can give them a little blow, a little blunt, a little drink. But if you give them a case of whiskey, and you give them a kilo of coke, and you give them a mother [expletive] pound of weed. They will die," Owens allegedly said.

DA, mayor deny bribery allegations

Owens, in a statement through his lawyer released in August following Lee's conviction, said he met with out-of-town developers about "the possibility of building a convention center hotel in Jackson."

"He believed them and after multiple conversations, agreed to help them. It turns out they were operatives for the FBI," Owens' statement reads. "Given that status of the investigation, I don’t think it’s appropriate to say anything else at this juncture."

In a video statement Wednesday, Lumumba called his indictment "political prosecution."

"To be clear, I have never accepted a bribe of any type. As mayor, I have always acted in the best interest of the citizens of Jackson," he said. "We believe this to be a political prosecution against me, primarily designed to destroy my credibility and reputation within the community. There is no coincidence, and its timing being just before the upcoming mayoral race. My legal team will vigorously defend me against these charges. Again, while I am disappointed, I am not deterred, so I ask for your patience and your prayers during this process."

Lumumba, who was first elected mayor in 2017, is on the tail end of his second term in office, which ends on July 1, 2025.

This is a developing story.