Ex-Hinds County DA Owens Gets 41 Months, Ex-Councilman Banks 45 Months in Jackson Bribery Scheme

Status: Sentenced Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. Both defendants pleaded guilty. Coverage dated to the sentencing day (Mississippi Today, Clarion Ledger); some wire reprints carried early Nov. 6 UTC stamps.

Former Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and a $100,000 fine, and former Jackson Councilman Aaron Banks to 45 months and a $15,000 fine, for their roles in a Jackson bribery scheme (AP, Mississippi Today, Clarion Ledger, Clarion Ledger). U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III called Owens the "ringleader."

The case grew from a 2023 undercover FBI sting in which agents posed as out-of-state developers seeking a downtown convention-center hotel. Owens was accused of soliciting about $250,000 in bribes to rig city contract bidding. Banks, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy, took $10,000 cash plus benefits that included a job for his daughter, the Clarion Ledger reports. Prosecutors had sought 51-60 months for Banks; his longer sentence relative to Owens partly reflected prior DUI convictions (WLBT).

Former Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba pleaded guilty last summer to one conspiracy count and awaits sentencing. Owens is to report to the Yazoo City federal complex on Jan. 4, 2027; Banks remains out on bond until January, Mississippi Today reports.