Just over a month after being found guilty of conspiracy to embezzle government funds, Zahn is asking to be acquitted or granted a new trial.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Former JEA CEO Aaron Zahn filed a 25-page motion Monday seeking acquittal.
Zahn is asking to be either exonerated or granted a new trial.
On March 14, he was found guilty of conspiracy to embezzle federal property and wire fraud after a trial that lasted about a month. He was tried along with former chief financial officer Ryan Wannemacher and was acquitted of both charges.
Zahn's lawyers made several motions for acquittal during the trial, all of which were denied. In a new filing, his lawyers argue that the federal government failed to prove his guilt at trial.
Mr. Zahn was involved in an elaborate scheme that would have netted him and other executives hundreds of thousands of dollars if JEA were sold.
The motion, signed by Mr. Zahn's attorney A. Brian Albritton, says the government cannot even prove that the “alleged scheme” involved funds belonging to JEA or the City of Jacksonville, and that the government cannot prove that the “alleged scheme” even involved funds belonging to JEA or the City of Jacksonville, and that the It just states that it could not be proven that it could be acquired (sold, etc.), and then it could have been stolen.
Mr. Albritton went on to list a number of things that Mr. Zahn's team believes the government has failed to prove, including intent to defraud and lying.
The motion also states that wire fraud charges based on the fact that JEA's board meetings were broadcast online do not apply here because broadcasting the meetings was not Zahn's initiative. This was raised repeatedly by Zahn's lawyers during his trial, both as a basis for seeking a mistrial and as a basis for arguing for Zahn's innocence. It was a failure on both counts.
The motion goes on to say that Zahn's First Amendment rights are in jeopardy because the government is trying to crack down on what he was responsible for saying, or failing to say, when he carried out the project. claims to have been infringed. This claim is reminiscent of claims made during the trial that Zahn was the victim of dirty politics and subdued by an unjust government.
Albritton argues in his motion that the government has not even been able to prove that Zahn is “an agent of JEA or the City of Jacksonville.” This argument was also tried by Zahn's defense team during the trial, but was unsuccessful. The motion also details arguments that the case should not have been tried in federal court.
He argues that the government did not prove that Mr. Zahn concealed a plan to profit from the bonus system, but that Mr. Zahn did not make sure that JEA board members understood the plan. .
“Mr. Zahn's alleged failure to provide thorough clarity regarding his potential compensation is not so clearly inappropriate as to fall within the scope of wire fraud statutes,” Albritton wrote. .
He has repeatedly argued that Zahn's fiduciary, or ethical, duty to JEA is “vague” and that the government has failed to thoroughly explain how the bonus system falls under this duty.
Mr. Albritton once again referred to political interference, saying, “vague or amorphous disclosure requirements risk political abuse based on prosecutors' subjective moral views. The defendant can make up what he or she chooses to do, at whatever level he chooses to do so.''
He said Zahn did not clearly understand what he “should have said” to the board when presenting the bonus plan.
“With no clear external disclosure standards, Mr. Zahn had no idea that he would face federal criminal charges for failing to make the disclosures that the government subsequently claimed were required.”
Federal Judge Brian Davis, who handled Zahn and Wannemacher's case, had not responded as of Monday night.
Zahn is scheduled to be sentenced on June 18th.
