JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – The mayor of the capital of MississippiThe top prosecutor in the state’s largest county and a Jackson City Council member have been indicted on conspiracy and corruption charges in a case that has already forced the resignation of another City Council member, court records show. federal court revealed Thursday.

The charges against Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Hinds County Prosecutor Jody Owens and Jackson City Council member Aaron B. Banks came after two people working for the FBI were arrested. pass themselves off as real estate developers wanting to build a hotel near the downtown convention center. Jackson and made 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 appear before a magistrate judge for the first time on Thursday.

Lumumba released a video statement Wednesday claiming he had been indicted and calling it a “political prosecution” aimed at harming his 2025 re-election campaign.

“My legal team has informed me that federal prosecutors have in fact indicted me on corruption and related charges,” said Lumumba, an attorney. “To be clear, I have never accepted a bribe of any kind. As Mayor, I have always acted in the best interests 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 corruption charges following 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 in the prosecutor’s office was a safe made to look like a book labeled as the U.S. Constitution, containing approximately $20,000 in cash, including approximately $9,900 showing serial numbers confirming they were been paid by the alleged developers to Owens, according to the recently unsealed indictment.

Owens bragged to the alleged promoters about his influence over Jackson officials and “facilitated the payment of over $80,000 in bribes” to Lumumba, Banks and Lee in exchange for their agreement to secure the approval of the multimillion-dollar downtown development, according to the indictment. The document also states that Owens “solicited and accepted at least $115,000 in cash and promises of future financial benefits” from the alleged promoters to use his connections with Lumumba, Banks and Lee and act as a conduit for the payments in their favor.

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

Sherik Marve Smith — who is an insurance broker and a relative of Owens, according to court documents — waived the indictment and pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge in the case on Oct. 17. He agreed to forfeit $20,000 and his sentencing is set for February. 19.

Smith conspired to make cash payments and campaign contributions to two Jackson elected officials, and the money came from purported developers who worked for the FBI, according to court documents.

Owens, Lumumba, Smith and the alleged developers traveled in April aboard a private jet paid for by the FBI to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to the newly unsealed indictment. During a meeting on a yacht that was audio and video recorded, Lumumba received five campaign checks for $10,000 each, and he called a Jackson city employee and asked them to push back the date limit on submission of proposals to develop property near the convention center. , says the indictment. The deadline was pushed back so as to benefit the purported developers who worked for the FBI by likely eliminating all their competitors, the indictment says.

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

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