JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Former JEA CEO Aaron Zahn was found guilty by a federal jury on Friday of attempting to defraud the city-owned utility.
The former executive was convicted on both counts of conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with an alleged scheme that would have resulted in Zahn and other JEA executives making millions in bonuses if the utility was sold.
The former CEO could be heard crying after his verdict was read while the judge thanked the jury for their service.
He now faces up to 25 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for June 18.
Timeline: The federal case against two former JEA executives
The verdict puts a punctuation mark on a scandal that shook the city and JEA back in 2019. Some have called it the greatest scheme to defraud the taxpayers in the history of Jacksonville.
While Zahn was found guilty, his former CFO was found not guilty on both counts. Wannemacher was also visibly emotional after his verdict was read.
In a statement, Wannemacher thanked his wife, family and friends for their support through what he said was the “most difficult thing” he has experienced.
These last 5 years have been the most difficult thing I have ever gone through. I would not be here today without relying on God and his faithfulness. He has truly seen me through the valley of darkness.
I am so thankful to Judge Davis for a fair trial and the jurors for seeing the truth of this situation without the lens of politics. Their commitment to the deliberation process was humbling.
Thank you to my legal team. This outcome would not have been possible without their tireless work and dedication to my cause.
Most of all, thank you to my wonderful wife, family and friends who stood by and supported me through this journey. You really learn a lot about your marriage and friendships when you go through something like this. My marriage has never been better and my wife has been the strongest, most loving and incredible person I could ever imagine and I am so grateful to be doing life with her.
In the midst of this challenging and emotional process I have been changed for the better. This has re-prioritized my life. I am softer and more empathetic. This may have destroyed my former career but I have spent more time pouring into the lives of my two sons than I ever imagined could be possible, and for that I am grateful. With so much future uncertainty, I learned to be more present each day and try to focus on making the most of what really matters in this short time we have in life.
I just want to finish by saying to anyone out there who is going through a tough time right now, I would encourage you to turn to God. My day to day dependency on Him has expanded dramatically through this process. For anyone who is going through a tough time, understand it’s not from God. We live in a broken and fallen world. Bad things happen in life. It’s not always happy endings. But even in the midst of the brokenness and sin we can still run to God and rest under the shadow of his wings. Walking through the brokenness is far better with God at your side than going alone. In my case it’s the only way I could have made it through.
I prayed Philippians 4:6-7 during so many sleepless nights and over the course of this trial: Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Today, I have truly seen the goodness of God.
Ryan Wannemacher
Mayor Donna Deegan issued a statement after the verdicts, saying:
I’m glad justice was served. As has been said, this was one of the greatest schemes to defraud the taxpayers in the history of Jacksonville. During the trial, we heard a lot about the type of behavior that we don’t want to see in our government ever again. JEA will always stay in public hands as long as I’m mayor.
Mayor Donna Deegan
A spokesperson for the utility also issued a statement:
The trial reinforced at least one key fact: The value of JEA is, and has always been, based on the incredible work of its employees. JEA is proud to be a community-owned utility and will continue to focus on serving our Northeast Florida customers and community every day, as it has since 1895.
We are grateful for the dedication and commitment of the members of both juries, who considered a tremendous amount of evidence and delivered a just verdict consistent with that evidence. At JEA, we remain committed to integrity, respect, and transparency in all that we do. The actions of a former CEO do not reflect our organization or our values. We appreciate the efforts of all who assisted in delivering this outcome, and we look forward to putting this matter behind us while we focus on moving forward to serve our community.
JEA spokesperson Karen McAllister
MORE: Former JEA board member declines to answer more than two dozen questions related to trial of former JEA executives | Attorney testifies former JEA CEO said he would make $40 million if JEA was sold, and had backing of Mayor Curry | City lawyer testifies she saw issues with controversial bonus plan for JEA execs, even though she was set to benefit | JEA pushed for accelerated plan to sell utility to alter the narrative after public backlash, investment banker says
“It’s nice to see that the justice system does work, you know it’s not always the case when you see all the evidence presented, granted the general public sees a lot more than what the jury does, but this is a time where I think the justice system succeeded,” Kevin McPheeters said.
Melinda Truman said she feels the city avoided a big scam.
“Well it’s wonderful, you know it’s showing us that somebody is watching out for us and that checks and balances are working,” Truman said.
Closing arguments in the case wrapped up on Wednesday and the separate juries began deliberating on Thursday.
The jury for Zahn quickly returned a verdict on Thursday evening after seven and a half hours of deliberations but its conclusion was sealed until Friday when the verdict for Wannemacher was reached.
Prosecutors said Zahn schemed to push for the sale and the controversial bonus plan and tried to paint a picture that JEA was struggling. They said Wannemacher helped create the plan and went along with it even though he knew it was problematic.
Zahn’s attorney refuted that. He addressed both juries in closing arguments.
He said there wasn’t any evidence that showed communication between Zahn and Wannemacher, meaning no paper trail, emails, phone records or texts.
Jurors had to figure out what JEA executives knew or did not know when voting on the performance unit plan, a bonus plan that could have resulted in more than $345 million in payouts to JEA leaders if the utility was sold. Multiple people testified in the trial that this kind of bonus plan was unprecedented for government entities.
Wannemacher’s attorney argued the case came down to what his client was thinking during the key 2019 board meeting when the plan was approved by board members who testified they had no idea about the potential for huge bonus payouts.
Wannemacher’s attorney said he was acting in good faith and being honest and argued the jury never heard any evidence that Wannemacher lied or formed a strategic plan.