JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced former JEA CEO Aaron Zahn to four years in prison following convictions of conspiracy and wire fraud charges.
Zahn will voluntarily surrender to a facility designated by the Bureau of Prisons at a later date and will serve one year of supervised release when his sentence is over.
“Today’s sentencing closes a painful chapter for our employees and the community we serve. We are thankful for the members of law enforcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the criminal justice system for all of their hard work,” a JEA spokesperson said following the sentencing. “The actions of a former executive do not reflect the core values of our 2,200-plus dedicated employees, who remain focused on improving lives and building community with the goal of being the best utility in the nation. JEA is proud to remain Jacksonville’s municipally-owned utility.”
Zahn left the federal courthouse holding his wife’s hand and did not have anything to say to the countless members of the media waiting for him.
Painting a picture of a family man involved in his community, attorneys for Zahn had asked the judge not to impose a multi-year prison sentence, saying this has already taken an immense toll on Zahn and his family, with scrutiny and humiliation leading to a diagnosis of PTSD for the former utility head.
He was facing up to nine years in federal prison based on sentencing guidelines.
Mayor Donna Deegan shared a statement after the sentencing.
“With today’s sentencing, we can finally now move on as a city from this scandal. Let me say once again that JEA needs to remain in public hands and I will always work to keep it so,” Deegan said.
Timeline: The federal case against two former JEA executives
Zahn was convicted in March, following a trial focused on a proposed bonus plan that prosecutors said could have paid out millions of dollars to Zahn and other executives, had the city-owned utility been sold, as was being explored in 2019. In a sentencing memorandum filed earlier this week, prosecutors argued for a punishment of “multi-year incarceration.”
The hearing’s first hour and a half focused on legal arguments.
The defense attorneys took issue with the probation officer’s calculation of guidelines recommending a sentence of between 7 to 9 years of incarceration, which is largely based on an “intended loss” of $40 million. That is the amount, the probation officer found, that Zahn could have received from the performance unit plan, or PUP, had JEA been sold. They argued his sentencing guidelines should instead be calculated based on the actual loss of zero, and that even if the intended loss could be considered, the alleged loss is too speculative to factor into the sentencing.
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
The defense memo later argued that other factors around Zahn’s case, such as his background and personal characteristics, supported leniency, and a sentence less than the guidelines recommended.
Attorneys argued that the conviction itself, which left Zahn’s business career “in ruins,” imposes serious punishment.
Attorneys had an opportunity at the sentencing hearing to present additional arguments, all of which the judge took into consideration. Six witnesses spoke in support of Zahn and shared what a great father and neighbor he is.
Zahn’s father-in-law, Edgar Ennis Jr., who has been a judge, federal prosecutor, and lawyer in Georgia for almost 53 years, said he had to “confront the obligation, many times, to make character judgments.”
Ennis has known Zahn for 14 years and gave him a great deal of scrutiny when he wanted to marry his only daughter, Mary Branan Ennis. He recalled a time when Zahn made a one-day trip from Jacksonville to Macon, Georgia, to formally ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage.
He called Zahn the ideal husband, father and son-in-law. Ennis said nothing about the guilty verdict caused him to change his mind about Zahn.
“He’s both a gentleman and a gentle man,” Ennis said.
Zahn’s wife, Mary Branan Ennis Zahn, spoke for a little over 10 minutes as the final witness. She talked about how growing up in a traditional southern home in Macon, her mom hoped she would marry a man like her father, Ennis.
She told the court she believed she found that in Zahn.
A mutual friend introduced the two as she was completing her residency at UF Health in Jacksonville. They didn’t immediately start dating but once they did, his kind and gentle values became apparent on their first date.
After they got married and had kids, she said from the very beginning he “was an equal partner” and “his children are his greatest joy.”
She remembered how she watched in “hopeless agony” once the scrutiny over the case against Zahn began.
Zahn did not make a statement, per the advice of his lawyers.
Prosecutors called Attorney Lee Wedekind, with the Nelson Mullins firm, to speak on JEA’s behalf to give a victim impact statement.
In the lengthy statement (which you can read below), JEA refuted Zahn’s claims that the utility company did not suffer from his actions.
One key point was that JEA had incurred out-of-pocket costs of $76 million with $63 million of that cost as a result of increased financing costs due to credit downgrades that were attributable to the failed scheme to sell the company. And about $13 million paid to outside vendors during the exploration of the sale.
“The fraud might be over, but the scars remain,” Wedekind said.
The judge spent about 25 minutes discussing his decisions with regard to the overruled objections and his consideration of the sentence, noting that the letters he received from Zahn’s family and friends were unlike any he had seen in a single case.
He did, however, point out that all but one of the letters failed to reference something he regularly sees -- that good people can and do make bad decisions.
Zahn stood almost motionless as the sentence was read.
Zahn now has 90 days to report so that he can work with his attorneys as they start the appeals process.
Zahn’s attorneys requested that he be assigned to a federal prison in Pensacola or Montgomery, Alabama, which are minimum-security prisons that house male inmates.