Former JEA CEO Aaron Zahn, convicted in federal court March 14 of conspiracy to embezzle and steal municipal funds and wire fraud, is scheduled to be sentenced July 30.
On July 23, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Zahn’s defense attorneys filed memorandums with the court stating their respective positions on the sentence the court should consider.
The government recommends a “multi-year term of incarceration” based on the charges.
The defense states that imposing a long prison sentence is not a just outcome because the jury “essentially found” that what Zahn committed was a breach of trust.
“For that, a promising young man has become a convicted felon, whose life has been ruined,” the defense wrote.
The government based its case on Zahn’s involvement with the Performance Unit Plan, a bonus plan that Zahn and others crafted to work in tandem with the privatization of JEA.
The privatization and the bonus plan were stopped by the city-owned utility’s board of directors before either went into effect.
During the trial, the government contended that Zahn would have received as much as $40 million had the plan been completed.
“Aaron Zahn corruptly conspired to steal from the city of Jacksonville and perpetrate the largest fraud in the history of the city. When Zahn became the CEO of JEA, his sole focus was privatization, and obtaining substantial wealth during the process” and “While Zahn failed in his quest, the felonious conspiratorial agreement was made, and Zahn took substantial steps to implement the PUP,” the government wrote in the memorandum.
Zahn’s attorneys wrote that “the breach of trust underlying Aaron’s conviction resulted in no actual loss to any victim, and no restitution is sought,” and “Imposing a multi-year prison sentence on Aaron is not a just outcome of this matter. The jury essentially found that Aaron committed a breach of trust. For that, a promising young man has become a convicted felon, whose life has been ruined. He, along with his family, has been and continues to be punished..”
Zahn is scheduled to be sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Brian Davis at 2 p.m. July 30 at the Bryan Simpson U.S. Courthouse.
JEA executive Ryan Wannemacher, who faced the same charges as Zahn in the trial, was found not guilty.