On November 7, 2024, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, and Jackson City Council member Aaron B. Banks were indicted on bribery charges. The charges stemmed from two undercover FBI agents posing as real estate developers who made payments to officials, including a $50,000 contribution towards Lumumba’s reelection campaign. Lumumba, Owens, and Banks, all Democrats, were scheduled to appear before a magistrate judge for their initial hearings.
In response to his indictment, Lumumba condemned it as a “political prosecution” aimed at undermining his 2025 reelection bid. He asserted that he had never accepted a bribe and had always acted in the best interests of the city of Jackson. Lumumba announced that his legal team would vigorously defend him against the charges, believing them to be a deliberate attempt to destroy his credibility and reputation within the community. The Associated Press reached out to an attorney for Owens for comment on the situation.
Angelique Lee, a Jackson City Council member who resigned in August after pleading guilty to federal bribery charges related to the same FBI investigation, is scheduled for sentencing on November 13. The indictment revealed that FBI agents found a lockbox disguised as a book labeled “U.S. Constitution” in Owens’ office, containing around $20,000 in cash, with $9,900 matching funds provided by the undercover developers. Owens allegedly facilitated over $80,000 in bribe payments to Lumumba, Banks, and Lee, leveraging his connections with them to secure their support for a downtown development.
The indictment also alleges that Lumumba instructed a city employee to adjust a project deadline to benefit the undercover developers, while Banks and Lee committed to supporting the proposal in council votes. Sherik Marve Smith, an insurance broker and relative of Owens, pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge on October 17, agreeing to forfeit $20,000 with sentencing scheduled for February 19. The indictment further revealed that Owens, Lumumba, Smith, and the undercover FBI agents flew to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on a private jet funded by the FBI, where Lumumba accepted campaign checks totaling $50,000 aboard a yacht and directed a city employee to adjust project deadlines to favor the developers.
These developments represent a significant corruption scandal in Jackson, Mississippi, involving high-ranking officials accused of accepting bribes in exchange for support on a multimillion-dollar downtown development project. The indictments and guilty pleas paint a picture of a web of bribery and corruption that permeated various levels of city government in Jackson. The allegations have raised concerns about the integrity of public officials and the potential impact on the city’s governance and future development projects. It remains to be seen how these legal proceedings will unfold and what consequences they will have on Lumumba, Owens, Banks, and others implicated in the scandal.
