Jury selection for former JEA executives accused of conspiracy, wire fraud to begin Thursday

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Nearly 2 years after 2 former JEA executives were indicted on conspiracy and wire fraud charges, jury selection starts in the Jacksonville federal courthouse.

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Aaron Zahn, JEA’s former CEO, and Ryan Wannamacher, his former CFO, are accused of trying to cash in on the effort to privatize the public utility.

Jury selection in this trial starts at 9 a.m. on Thursday.

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Here’s what we know about the case: Aaron Zahn and Ryan Wannamacher are the 2 former JEA executives accused of conspiracy and wire fraud. Their charges stem from accusations that they tried to line their own pockets during the effort to privatize JEA from 2018 to 2020.

In January 2020, federal officials began investigating the failed JEA sale when the probe was turned over by the State Attorney’s Office.

Then in March 2022, both men were indicted, and they both pleaded not guilty to the charges.

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Leading up to this trial, one of the questions that surfaced was the level of involvement former Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry had. An attorney hired to help sell JEA testified that Zahn told him during a phone call in 2019 that the mayor was “very supportive” of Zahn receiving $40 million if he succeeded in selling the utility.

Action News Jax law and safety expert Dale Carson said that if Curry truly did endorse the bonus scheme, it could spell trouble for the former mayor.

“If he were to credibly testify that Curry was involved and Curry has touched this in a way that advanced a conspiracy to defraud the people of Jacksonville, the result is he could be charged,” Carson explained.

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We should note that former Mayor Curry has strongly denied that this ever happened.

Jury selection will be on both Thursday and Friday, and opening statements in the trial are expected to start next Tuesday.

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