Flora

Flora, MS · Municipal
WJTV 12
The Clarion Ledger
Former Jackson Councilman Aaron Banks sentenced in Jackson bribery case
Former Jackson City Councilman Aaron Banks is the latest city official to learn his punishment in a federal bribery scheme that brought down a mayor, district attorney and other Jackson officials. Banks was sentenced Thursday, Nov. 5, to 45 months in federal prison for his role in the scheme , which also involved former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and former Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens. Owens was sentenced earlier Thursday, just hours before Banks. Additionally, Banks has to pay a fine of $15,000. He is to report to prison on Jan. 4, 2027, with U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III recommending he be jailed at Federal Correctional Complex Yazoo City. The scheme centered on undercover FBI agents posing as developers who wanted to build a convention center hotel in downtown Jackson. Before learning his punishment, Banks stood before Jordan and apologized for his actions, acknowledging that he had betrayed the trust of the people who elected him. "I had choices, and I made wrong ones," Banks told the judge. "For that, I am deeply sorry. I am sorry to the citizens who placed their confidence in me. I am sorry to my family, who have had to