Jackson’s former mayor, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, pleaded guilty Monday to federal conspiracy charges, marking a dramatic reversal in a sprawling corruption scandal that has ensnared multiple city leaders in Mississippi’s capital. The guilty plea came just one week after the county’s top prosecutor, Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, entered a similar plea, and one week before Lumumba and another co-defendant were scheduled to stand trial.
Lumumba appeared before U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan at 1:30 p.m. at the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse, where he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, wire fraud and money laundering. The former mayor, who served from 2017 until losing his reelection bid in 2025, initially faced five counts that could have resulted in up to 75 years in prison and more than $1 million in fines. Under the plea agreement, he now faces a maximum of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. The government said it will also request restitution.
When asked by the prosecutor whether he agreed with the facts presented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dave Fulcher, Lumumba stated simply, “I accept the facts that he said.” After nearly two years of maintaining his innocence following his November 2024 indictment, the plea marked a stark reversal for Lumumba, who had vowed to transform Jackson into “the most radical city on the planet.”
The charges stem from an elaborate FBI undercover operation that began in October 2023 and concluded in May 2024. Two federal agents posing as Nashville real estate developers approached Jackson officials seeking support for a proposed convention center hotel project downtown. Prosecutors alleged that on April 2, 2024, during a yacht trip in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Lumumba accepted five $10,000 campaign contribution checks disguised as legitimate donations. In exchange, according to prosecutors, he called a city employee and directed them to move the deadline for developers to respond to the city’s request for qualifications, shortening the bid window from April 30 to April 15. This change allegedly gave the undercover FBI operatives an unfair advantage over other potential developers.
The payoffs were carefully structured to appear legitimate. The checks came from accounts associated with Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens and his businesses. Owens himself was accused of accepting at least $115,000 in cash and facilitating more than $80,000 in payments to his alleged co-conspirators, including the $50,000 directed to Lumumba’s reelection campaign. Owens pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy on June 29, two weeks before his own trial was scheduled to begin.
Two other city officials have already pleaded guilty in the scheme. Former Jackson City Council member Angelique Lee, who served as vice president, pleaded guilty in August 2024 after admitting she accepted bribes from the undercover agents. Sherik Marve Smith, described as a relative and business associate of Owens, pleaded guilty in October 2024 for his role in funneling bribery payments to city officials.
The guilty pleas prevented what was shaping up to be a highly anticipated trial. Former City Council member Aaron Banks, who represented Ward 6, also pleaded guilty Monday afternoon to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. Like Lumumba, Banks faces up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. The three men—Owens, Lumumba, and Banks—are scheduled to be sentenced together on October 15, 2026.
The guilty pleas meant the public would not see the full extent of the federal investigation into corruption in Jackson. Owens had planned to argue the government entrapped him, while Lumumba had contended in court filings that he did not take an “official action” in exchange for bribes. Banks had intended to argue his innocence at trial.
Legal experts predicted Lumumba’s guilty plea after Owens changed his plea. Many observers had noted that Owens was likely to become the government’s star witness against the remaining defendants, potentially devastating to Lumumba’s defense. By entering a plea, Lumumba likely limited the damage that Owens’ testimony could inflict at trial.
The scandal has extended beyond the criminal proceedings. The Mississippi Bar Association filed a complaint with the Mississippi Supreme Court on July 6, seeking suspension of Owens’ license to practice law. Lumumba, who holds a law degree from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University and practices law with Lumumba & Freelon Associates in downtown Jackson, will likely also be required to surrender his license.
Owens, who was first elected in 2019 as the county’s top prosecutor and had branded himself a “progressive prosecutor,” announced his resignation effective July 1 in a social media post. He wrote that the decision to resign was “one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made,” adding that while it “hurts beyond measure” to step away from the position, he believed it was best for his family and the district attorney’s office. A temporary district attorney has been appointed to fill the vacancy until the governor makes a more permanent decision.
Federal investigators had been drawn to Jackson as early as 2022 after years of public accusations of corruption among its leaders. The convention center hotel project had been a long-running saga, with the city seeking a developer for nearly two decades to build on empty blocks near the 15-year-old convention complex. That long-standing need for development made the downtown area vulnerable to the elaborate FBI sting.