Both juries now seated for trial of former JEA execs accused of conspiracy, wire fraud

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A jury to hear former JEA chief financial officer Ryan Wannemacher’s case was chosen late Friday afternoon.

Wannemacher and Aaron Zahn, the city utility’s former CEO, are charged with conspiracy and wire fraud in connection to a proposed bonus plan that prosecutors said could have paid out hundreds of millions of dollars if the utility were sold. They pleaded not guilty following their indictment in March 2022.

TIMELINE: The federal case against two former JEA executives

The trial will feature separate juries to hear each defendant’s case. Zahn’s jury was chosen on Thursday.

Opening statements in the trial, which were set for Tuesday, have been pushed back to Wednesday.

This is because potential hardship issues have arisen for some of the jurors chosen for Zahn’s case.

On Tuesday morning, the jurors in question will be brought in at 9 a.m. so the judge and attorneys can understand the situation. They are also bringing in additional potential jurors, to potentially choose some additional alternate jurors.

Because of the uncertainty with how long that could take, and the length of time needed for opening statements, they are pushing back the start of the trial to Wednesday.

The trial is expected to last four weeks.

If convicted on all charges, the men could face up to 25 years in prison.