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JEA trial delayed again

A federal judge agreed to postpone the fraud and conspiracy trial of two former Jacksonville utility executives until February 2024.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The criminal case against two JEA executives will be delayed until 2024 according to an order by the judge in the case.

The trial, originally scheduled for May 2022, then moved to October 2023, will now happen in February 2024.

Former JEA CEO Aaron Zahn and former CFO Wannemacher have pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud and conspiracy in what prosecutors say was a scheme to enrich themselves at the expense of ratepayers.

“Given the complexities and timing of the pending issues in this litigation, the Court will grant one final continuance in this matter,” U.S. District Judge Brian Davis wrote. He noted that several key issues have not yet been decided, including whether the trial will be moved to a different jurisdiction and whether the two defendants will be tried separately.

Those issues won’t be resolved until after a magistrate judge issues a report on a recent two-week hearing, which may not happen until September.

The criminal case grew out of the failed sale of the city utility in 2019, a deal that included the creation of a lucrative employee benefit plan whose value would soar if the utility was sold. An investigator testified at a recent two-week hearing in the case that Zahn personally expected to pocket $40 million if the deal went through, and thought members of his executive leadership team would each make $10 million.

Wannemacher and Zahn are the only two charged in the case, though testimony indicated others who stood to profit from the sale knew the value of the benefit plan and did not disclose it.

As a municipal utility, JEA is owned by taxpayers and contributes more than a hundred million annually to the city’s general fund.   

At the recent two-week hearing, the city's former General Counsel Jason Gabriel testified that when he learned the value of the Performance Unit Plan, or PUP, “I was mind blown.”

The trial is now set to begin Feb. 5, 2024 and is expected to last a month.

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