COLUMBUS, madam.- Two Mississippi businessmen, one of whom served on the governor’s economic recovery advisory committee, have been acquitted of all charges in a case in which they were accused of fraudulently receiving more than $2 million in COVID relief -19 pandemic.
Jabari Ogbanna Edwards and Antwann Richardson, both Columbus residents, were found not guilty by a federal jury in Oxford on Friday, court records show.
Edwards and Richardson were indicted in June 2022 on charges of money laundering, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to Clay Joyner, the U.S. attorney for northern Mississippi. Edwards was also charged with making a false statement.
In April 2020, Republican Governor Tate Reeves appointed Edwards as one of several members of Restart Mississippi, a committee to advise him on the economy as COVID-19 spread.
Edwards held a news conference in Columbus on Tuesday to thank his supporters and advocates, WCBI-TV reported.
“Your unconditional love and unyielding support have been my steadfast anchor during these difficult times,” Edwards said.
Lawyer Wil Colom said the prosecution was malicious and should never have happened. Colom said the ordeal cost Edwards two years of his life, his business, name and image.
The indictments accused Edwards and Richardson of applying for and receiving money from the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program for the now-defunct company North Atlantic Security.
According to an indictment, North Atlantic Security received more than $500,000 from the Paycheck Protection Program about a month before it sold its contracts and assets to American Sentry Security Services.
North Atlantic Security stopped doing business in March 2021, but applied for and received more than $1.8 million in Economic Injury Disaster Loan funds in October and November of that year, the indictment said.
Prosecutors accused Edwards and Richardson of laundering the money through their other companies, including J5 Solutions, Edwards Enterprises, J5 GBL, BH Properties and The Bridge Group.
A June 2022 statement from Joyner said the men used the money for illicit expenses, including personal real estate transactions, political contributions, charitable donations and vehicle loan payments.