JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Prosecutors are seeking a protective order to block the release of sensitive information in the case of the Jackson bribery scandal.
On December 9, representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office requested the protective order, which seeks to protect the disclosure of personal identifiable information, financial information, grand jury testimony and other sensitive witness statements.
The motion stated, “If this information were to be publicly disclosed, such disclosure might impede other investigations, substantially impair the privacy of third-party witnesses, and jeopardize the defendants’ right to a fair trial.”
According to court documents, the government has consulted with the defense counsel for Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba and Jackson City Councilman Aaron Banks, Ward 6.
Prosecutors said Owens and Lumumba have not objection to the court entering the proposed protective order. They said Owens requested to reserve the right to later move the court to
expand the protective order to include the prosecution team as well as the defense.
According to documents, Banks had no objection to the order, but he objected to the inclusion of names of witnesses as an additional restriction on public disclosure in motion practice.
Lumumba, Owens and Banks were indicted in connection to the bribery scandal.
Owens has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, honest services wire fraud, and money laundering. Lumumba has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, honest services wire fraud, and money laundering. Banks has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, honest services wire fraud, and money laundering.
According to the unsealed indictment, Owens conspired with Lumumba, Banks, former Jackson City Councilwoman Angelique Lee, Ward 2, Sherik Marve Smith and others to carry out a bribery scheme to enrich themselves from October 2023 to May 2024.
The documents stated that Owens, on behalf of two individuals purporting to be real estate developers from Nashville, Tennessee, facilitated more than $80,000 in bribe payments to Banks, Lumumba and Lee in exchange for their agreement to take official action to ensure the approval of the developers’ proposed downtown Jackson development project. The two developers were confidential human sources for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Owens allegedly solicited and accepted at least $115,000 in cash and promises of future financial benefits from the developers to use his relationships with Banks, Lumumba and Lee to act as an intermediary for the over $80,000 in bribe payments.
In January 2024, Banks allegedly solicited a $50,000 bribe in exchange for future votes in favor of the project. The documents stated that he also accepted an initial payment of $10,000 in cash from the developers via Owens in February 2024, along with a promise of funding for the employment of a family member and a protective detail service.
Prosecutors said Lee accepted cash, deposits and other gifts for her future votes in favor of the proposed real estate development project in the City of Jackson. The documents showed that Lee accepted $19,000 from February 2024 to March 2024.
The court documents stated that about March and April 2024, Lumumba accepted a bribe payment of $50,000 from the developers via Owens in the form of five $10,000 campaign-donation checks to disguise the true source of the funds in an attempt to avoid scrutiny from the public and law enforcement.
Lumumba directed a city employee to move a deadline to favor the purported developers’ project, and Banks and Lee agreed to vote in favor of it, according to the indictments unsealed Thursday.
Owens, Lumumba, Smith and the purported developers traveled in April on a private jet paid by the FBI to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to the newly unsealed indictment. During a meeting on a yacht that was recorded on audio and video, Lumumba received five campaign checks for $10,000 each, and he called a Jackson city employee and instructed that person to move a deadline for submission of proposals to develop the property near the convention center, the indictment says. The deadline was moved in a way to benefit the purported developers who were working for the FBI by likely eliminating any of their competition, the indictment says.
Banks, Lumumba and Owens previously pled not guilty to the charges against them, and they each received a $10,000 unsecured bond. Banks, Lumumba and Owens were ordered to give up their passports. Their trial was continued, but a new date has not been announced.
Lee and Sherik Marve Smith were previously charged in connection to a bribery scandal.
Smith — who is an insurance broker and a relative of Owens, according to court documents — was charged with conspiracy to commit bribery. Smith waived his right to prosecution by indictment and consented to prosecution by information, and he pled guilty to the charge. His sentencing has been scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on February 19, 2025.
Smith conspired to give cash payments and campaign contributions to two Jackson elected officials, and the money came from the purported developers who were working for the FBI, according to court documents.
The case was brought against Lee in August 2024, and she resigned from the Jackson City Council after she was charged with conspiracy to commit bribery.
Investigators said the FBI raided Lee’s home in May 2024 and found items in connection to the bribery case, except a sweatshirt and perfume. The Associated Press reported the seizure occurred on the same day agents raided the offices of Owens and the downtown cigar shop that he owns.
Among the items found in the district attorney’s office was a lockbox made to look like a book labeled as the U.S. Constitution, containing about $20,000 in cash, with about $9,900 showing serial numbers confirming it was paid by the purported developers to Owens, according to the newly unsealed indictment.
Lee pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, and her sentencing was pushed back to a later date.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.