JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A federal grand jury has indicted two former top executives at JEA, following a more than two-year criminal probe into the failed sale of the city-owned utility in 2019.
Federal prosecutors are charging JEA’s former Chief Executive Officer Aaron Zhan and JEA’s former Chief Financial Officer Ryan Wannemacher for their role in developing a controversial Performance Unit Plan, or PUP, that could have enriched JEA senior executives to the tune of millions of dollars in the event of a sale.
The roots of the JEA debacle were planted nearly seven years ago
Here is a timeline of major events.
Oct. 2015
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry asks the entire JEA Board of Directors to resign, a move that set in motion the controversial hiring of Aaron Zhan, a process to sell the city owned utility and the creation of a benefit scheme that could have netted millions for top executives.
Nov. 2017
At his last meeting, JEA board member Tom Petway, a close Curry ally, suggests exploring the possibility of privatizing the utility.
March 2018
After being appointed by Mayor Curry, Aaron Zahn attends his only meeting as a JEA Board member.
April 13, 2018
Zahn resigns to run for the job of JEA interim CEO. Despite having no experience running a utility, the board selected him four days later.
April 26, 2018
Mayor Curry says a sale of JEA is off the table, and promises he will not submit any JEA privatization plan to the City Council.
May 15, 2018
JEA Board Member Husein Cumber says JEA executives should not discuss or move toward privatization absent a formal board vote directing them to.
May 25, 2018
The JEA board unanimously approves halting privatization efforts.
March 2018
Mayor Curry: “I stand by my statement a year ago. I will not be introducing legislation to sell the JEA.”
May 2019
JEA’s senior leadership team, led by Aaron Zhan, presents what will later be called the “doom and gloom” forecast for the utility, which includes double-digit electric and water increases, firing hundreds of employees and possibly ending millions in annual contributions to city coffers.
June 17, 2019
The city’s Office of General Counsel confirms in a memo that JEA could enact "a long-term employee incentive program."
June 23, 2019
The JEA board votes to explore privatization through a process called an Invitation to Negotiate or ITN. The board also approves new contracts for the senior leadership team, as well as the bonus plan.
Nov. 18, 2019
The Florida Times-Union reports that new contracts provide the senior leadership team with “more than $1.5 million in special post-employment benefits.” The paper reported that the deal provided that Zahn would take home a $520,000 bonus in the event of a sale.
Aug. 1, 2019
Curry lauded JEA and CEO Aaron Zahn for JEA taking on a “strategic view” of the “asset.” “This conversation should have happened a year ago,” Curry said, but it got “politicized.” Curry also defended Zahn whom he said “has been attacked viciously, unfairly by some.”
Aug. 9, 2019
The City Council Auditor sends JEA a list of questions about the Performance Unit Plan, or PUP, including whether the plan is legal. On Oct. 1, JEA’s lawyer asks the state Attorney General to "confirm" that it is legal.
Oct. 4, 2019
Fan cam at an Atlanta Braves game shows Curry, Zahn, Council President Scott Wilson, Curry aide Brian Hughes in attendance with lobbyists Sam Mousa and Tim Baker.
Nov. 7, 2019
The Council Auditor presses JEA for calculations on how much the PUP will cost.
Nov. 12, 2019
Zahn announces JEA will cancel the controversial PUP.
Nov. 18, 2019
City Council Auditor releases a report highlighting the elements of the PUP, the details of which shock many in city government.
Nov. 25, 2019
Curry tells a special council committee investigating JEA, “I will oppose any effort to stop this [ITN] planning process because of baseless conspiracy theories, an unprecedented negative onslaught from a small segment of the media, or because the conversation is simply difficult to have.”
Dec. 3, 2019
JEA executives and Curry administration officials begin pushing an expedited timeline to wrap up the ITN by January, instead February as planned.
Dec. 12, 2019
Curry urges the JEA board to wrap up sales talks by January and defends the ITN process saying it occurred “openly and in accordance with the law.” At the same time, the Jacksonville Civic Council calls for the ITN process to be scrapped, saying the utility is “using the ITN to circumvent transparency requirements.
RELATED: JEA sues ousted CEO, accuses him of perpetrating 'perhaps the largest fraud in Jacksonville history'
Dec. 16, 2019
At a fact-finding meeting on the PUP, Councilmembers Rory Diamond and Ron Salem grill JEA executives. Diamond calls the PUP “legal theft” and calls for both Zahn and Chief Financial Officer Ryan Wannemacher to step down. When Wannemacher denied knowing who came up with the bonus plan concept, Diamond said it “seemed very odd.”
Dec. 17, 2019
JEA board votes to put Zahn on paid administrative leave in an attempt to avoid paying him $842,000 in severance his contract entitles him to if he’s terminated without cause.
Dec. 18, 2019
State Attorney Melissa Nelson says her office is “looking into” JEA.
Dec. 23, 2019
Mayor Curry asks JEA to stop its sales negotiations, saying the public has “lost faith” in the city-owned utility. “I hear that the public’s view of this has been eroded,” he said. “I said I supported the process, I never said I support a privatization or recapitalization. I said it's part of the options that ought to be discussed."
Dec. 24, 2019
At an emergency Christmas Eve meeting, the JEA board votes unanimously to stop the ITN.
Jan. 13, 2020
State Attorney Melissa Nelson refers the JEA investigation to the feds.
Jan. 20, 2020
City Council creates a committee with subpoena power to investigate the JEA debacle.
Jan. 28, 2020
The JEA board fires Zahn with cause, JEA Board Chair April Green resigns, and Curry announces that all other board members are to be gone by Feb. 28.
April 2020
The U.S. Attorney’s Office subpoenas thousands of pages of documents from JEA.
RELATED: Former JEA executive Melissa Dykes testifies in federal court as criminal grand jury probe continues
April 28, 2020
The board fires new interim CEO Melissa Dykes saying she is “tainted” by her association with Zahn.
June 9, 2020
JEA interim CEO Paul McElroy suspends the entire remaining senior leadership team. They are formally fired the following month.
June 2020
JEA sues Zahn, calling him “the principal architect and ringleader of perhaps the largest fraud in Jacksonville history.” Zahn’s attorney denies wrongdoing and says he acted "professionally, legally and ethically."
Jan. 4, 2021
The City Council releases its investigative report, calling the botched sales effort “the Mayor’s plan,” and saying, “The Curry administration and JEA engaged in a multi-year effort, from at least 2017 through 2019, to explore selling the City’s municipally-owned utility.”
Curry criticizes the report as baseless. “They have no facts, they have no interviews, they have nothing that demonstrates their claim.” Zahn’s attorney says he “vehemently disagrees with the disparaging and defamatory inferences, innuendos, and coerced statements contained in the report.”
March 2021
Former JEA senior executives and board members begin testifying before the federal Grand Jury.
March 7, 2022
Indictments against Zahn and Wannemacher unsealed.