Chokwe Antar Lumumba, the former mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, pleaded guilty Monday to a single conspiracy charge tied to a six-figure real estate bribery case.
Lumumba, who led the city from 2017 to 2025, was accused of taking tens of thousands of dollars that Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens passed along to him and other city officials after receiving the money from people he believed were real estate developers.
Owens, a Democrat, entered his own guilty plea to a federal conspiracy charge last week.
According to a copy of the criminal indictment obtained by Fox News Digital, Owens directed more than $80,000 in payments to Lumumba, Angelique Lee, the Democratic former vice president of the Jackson City Council, and Sherik Marve Smith, who is described as a relative of Owens.
Prosecutors said Owens obtained the money from two individuals he thought were real estate developers from Nashville, Tennessee. In return, the indictment alleges, the officials agreed to use their positions to help secure approval for a proposed multi-million-dollar development project in downtown Jackson.
The supposed developers were, in fact, undercover FBI agents.
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The indictment states that Owens “solicited and accepted at least $115,000 in cash and promises of future financial benefits from the Developers.”
Lumumba, prosecutors alleged, accepted $50,000 through campaign contributions while knowing the money was offered in exchange for his support of the real estate developments.
“Lumumba accepted the checks knowing and understanding that the money was from the Developers, and that it was being offered in exchange for official action from Lumumba in favor of the Developers’ proposed development project,” the indictment read.
Lumumba had originally called the prosecution’s charges a political prosecution, The Associated Press reported.
He lost his re-election bid in 2025, falling in the city’s Democratic primary to eventual winner John Horhn, who is now Jackson’s mayor.
Lumumba and Owens could face up to five years in prison. Their sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 15.
Fox News Digital contacted legal representatives for Lumumba, Owens and Lee and the city of Jackson for further comment.
