JACKSON, miss. – He mayor of the capital of MississippiThe top prosecutor in the state’s largest county and a Jackson City Council member have been charged with conspiracy and bribery in a case that already forced the resignation of another City Council member, according to federal court records revealed Thursday. .

The charges against Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens and Jackson City Councilman Aaron B. Banks were filed after two people who worked for the FBI posed as real estate developers who wanted to build a hotel near the convention center in the center of the city. Jackson and provided payments to officials, including $50,000 for the mayor’s re-election campaign, according to court documents.

Lumumba, Jody Owens and Banks were scheduled to make initial appearances Thursday before a judge.

Lumumba released a video statement Wednesday saying he had been charged and calling it “political prosecution” to damage his 2025 re-election campaign.

“My legal team has informed me that federal prosecutors have, in fact, charged me with bribery and related charges,” said Lumumba, who is an attorney. “To be clear, I have never accepted any type of bribe. “As mayor, I have always acted in the best interest of the city of Jackson.”

The Associated Press left a telephone message Thursday with Owens’ attorney, Thomas Gerry Bufkin. Federal court documents did not immediately list an attorney for Banks.

Lumumba and Banks were elected in mid-2017. Owens was elected in 2019 and took office in 2020. All three are Democrats.

Jackson City Council Member Angelique Leea Democrat, first elected in 2020, resigned in August and pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges as a result of the same FBI investigation. His sentencing is scheduled for November 13.

In May, FBI agents raided Owens’ office and a cigar bar he owns in downtown Jackson. Among the items found at the district attorney’s office was a safe deposit box made to look like a book labeled the United States Constitution, which contained about $20,000 in cash, with about $9,900 showing bank numbers. series that confirmed that they were paid by the alleged developers to Owens, according to the newly revealed indictment.

Owens boasted to alleged developers that he had influence over Jackson officials and “facilitated more than $80,000 in bribe payments” to Lumumba, Banks and Lee in exchange for their agreement to secure approval of the multimillion-dollar downtown development. according to the accusation. The document also says Owens “solicited and accepted at least $115,000 in cash and promises of future financial benefits” from the alleged developers to use his relationships with Lumumba, Banks and Lee and act as an intermediary for payments to them.

Lumumba ordered a city employee to postpone a deadline to favor the supposed developers’ project, and Banks and Lee agreed to vote in favor of it, according to indictments unsealed Thursday.

Sherik Marve Smith, an insurance broker and relative of Owens, according to court documents, waived prosecution and pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge in the case on Oct. 17. He agreed to forfeit $20,000 and is scheduled to be sentenced in February. 19.

Smith conspired to give cash payments and campaign contributions to two Jackson elected officials, and the money came from the alleged developers working for the FBI, according to court documents.

Owens, Lumumba, Smith and the alleged developers traveled on a private jet paid for by the FBI to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in April, according to the newly unsealed indictment. During a meeting on a yacht that was recorded on audio and video, Lumumba received five campaign checks for $10,000 each, and called a Jackson city employee and ordered that person to postpone a filing deadline. proposals to develop the property near the convention center. , says the accusation. The deadline was changed in a way that would benefit the alleged developers working for the FBI by likely eliminating any of their competitors, the indictment says.

The mayor said his legal team “will vigorously defend me against these charges.”

“We believe this is a political process against me, designed to destroy my credibility and reputation within the community,” Lumumba said.