JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Closing arguments will begin on Wednesday morning in the case against former JEA executives Aaron Zahn and Ryan Wannemacher.
The men are charged with conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with a proposed bonus plan that prosecutors said could have paid out hundreds of millions of dollars had the utility been sold.
RELATED: Federal prosecutors rest case against former JEA executives accused in fraud scheme
Attorneys will present their final arguments before jury deliberations begin.
Testimony ended on Tuesday, but not before an unexpected move by the court when the public, media and prosecutors were ordered to leave the court room.
The jury considering the case against Zahn was also removed from the courtroom.
Wannemacher’s jury stayed in the room and heard testimony presented by the former CFO’s attorneys.
It’s not clear what was said during that time, but attorneys implied that a clip of a statement that Zahn gave to city attorneys in January 2020 would be presented.
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 | Former JEA exec testifies she didn’t speak up about controversial bonus plan because she thought board members knew | Ex-JEA board chair had no idea plan she voted for could net $345M in bonus payouts if utility was sold: testimony | As city council auditors pushed for answers on controversial bonus plan, they say they got no response from JEA execs
News4JAX spoke with Ed Birk, an attorney who represents News4JAX and is not affiliated with the case, about the judge’s decision.
“It’s very unusual to close a proceeding and exclude the public, exclude the press, but also exclude the prosecution while the jury is hearing evidence. It’s an unusual situation because we had this administrative investigation called a Garrity Hearing. Garrity is a case name in federal courts,” he said.
Once the defense rested, the prosecution had one rebuttal witness, a city auditor credited with bringing attention to the massive payout that could have happened if JEA had been sold.
Closing arguments are set to begin at 9 am.
Zahn and Wannemacher could get up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.
