JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One of the two juries reached a verdict in the federal trial of former JEA executives accused of conspiracy and fraud.
On Friday, deliberations continue for the second executive accused in the case.
The jury for Aaron Zahn reached a verdict on Thursday afternoon around 5:25 p.m. after seven and a half hours of deliberations. The verdict will remain sealed until the jury for Ryan Wannemacher returns with its verdict.
Wannemacher’s jury returns to court Friday to deliberate. Once they reach a verdict, both verdicts will be read.
The former executives of the city-owned utility are charged with conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with an alleged scheme that would have resulted in them making millions in bonuses if JEA was sold.
“If I were to Zahn, I’d be very upset with how fast this jury has come back,” said Jacksonville Councilman Rory Diamond who had a key role on the council’s JEA investigative committee. “As a former federal prosecutor, I can tell you if there is a quick jury verdict, it usually means that they have found a defendant guilty. Now, that may not be true, but that’s usually what happens when you have a very fast verdict. And for such a complicated case like this one for them to be done in less than a day, that’s fast.”
There are two juries in the case, and they were separately given instructions from the judge before deliberations began. The Zahn jury began its deliberations around 9:45 a.m., and the Wannemacher jury began its discussions about an hour later.
After hours of deliberations, both juries returned with questions for the judge. Zahn’s jury asked a question about needing unanimous agreement on the sections under “Manner and Means” in the indictment in order to find him guilty.
The judge and lawyers discussed the question. The judge took a brief recess to decide how he wanted to handle it, then brought the jury in and told them they must follow all instructions as a whole, not single out or disregard any instructions.
Then the judge reread part of the jury’s instructions on the conspiracy charge.
MORE: Former JEA board member declines to answer more than two dozen questions related to trial of former JEA executives | Attorney testifies former JEA CEO said he would make $40 million if JEA was sold, and had backing of Mayor Curry | City lawyer testifies she saw issues with controversial bonus plan for JEA execs, even though she was set to benefit | JEA pushed for accelerated plan to sell utility to alter the narrative after public backlash, investment banker says
Closing arguments in the case wrapped up on Wednesday.
Prosecutors said Zahn, who was the CEO, schemed to push for the sale and the controversial bonus plan and tried to paint a picture that JEA was struggling. They said Wannemacher, who was the chief financial officer, helped create the plan and went along with it even though he knew it was problematic.
Zahn’s attorney refuted that. He addressed both juries in closing arguments.
He said there wasn’t any evidence that showed communication between Zahn and Wannemacher, meaning no paper trail, emails, phone records or texts.
Jurors need to figure out what JEA executives knew or did not know when voting on the performance unit plan, a bonus plan that could have resulted in more than $345 million in payouts to JEA leaders if the utility was sold. Multiple people testified in the trial that this kind of bonus plan was unprecedented for government entities.
Wannemacher’s attorney only addressed the jurors hearing Wannemacher’s case. He argued the case comes down to what his client was thinking during the key 2019 board meeting when the plan was approved by board members who testified they had no idea about the potential for huge bonus payouts.
Wannemacher’s attorney said he was acting in good faith and being honest and argued the jury never heard any evidence that Wannemacher lied or formed a strategic plan.
There could be different verdicts reached in the trial.
If Zahn and Wannemacher are convicted on all counts, they can each face up to 25 years in prison.
“I think Jacksonville is ready to have justice on this. They were ready for this to be over with,” Diamond said.