A federal judge has denied a request from former JEA CEO Aaron Zahn to remain free while he appeals his federal conviction on conspiracy and wire fraud charges.
Zahn was convicted in March following a trial that lasted roughly three weeks. He had been accused of trying to take millions in personal profits from a proposed sale of the city-owned utility through a controversial bonus plan that had been proposed. The sale was being explored in 2019, but the process was ended at the end of the year, after additional details about the proposed bonus plan came to light.
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In July, a federal judge sentenced Zahn to four years in prison. He was originally set to begin his sentence last month, but was granted an extension to Jan. 27, due to damage his Tampa-area home sustained during hurricanes Helene and Milton.
In October, Zahn and his attorneys argued he should remain free during the appeals process, in part because his appeal raises a “substantial question of law or fact.”
In a decision issued Thursday, a federal judge wrote that the court is “not convinced” that Zahn is likely to succeed on appeal, stating he relies on arguments the court has previously considered in denying his motions to dismiss, for acquittal, and for a new trial.
The judge’s ruling also referenced the case of former congresswoman Corrine Brown, who was sentenced to prison in 2017 following convictions of conspiracy and wire fraud. Brown’s requests to remain free while appealing her case were also denied, and the judge in Zahn’s case referenced a decision in the Brown case that stated that even in non-violent white collar criminal cases it is not customary for an offender to remain free pending appeal. Brown spent about two years in federal prison before she was released due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Brown’s conviction was eventually overturned in May 2021, and she avoided a retrial when she pleaded guilty to tax evasion a year later.
Zahn’s attorneys must file their appeal brief with the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals by Jan. 14. That brief was originally due this month, but the court granted a request for an extension that was partially based on the effects of the two hurricanes.
Zahn can also ask the 11th Circuit to allow him to remain free during the appeals process.