Former JEA CEO Aaron Zahn will end up serving less than half of a four-year prison sentence handed down by a federal judge for a scheme that prosecutors called the "largest fraud in the history of Jacksonville."
Zahn, 47, began serving his sentence in January 2025 at the medium-security FCI Edgefield prison in South Carolina. The Federal Bureau of Prisons transferred him on Sept. 11 to community confinement overseen by the bureau's Orlando Residential Reentry Management Office, spokesman Scott Taylor said. Zahn is slated for release on Jan.12.
Community confinement means a person is either being held in a home or in a halfway house while serving out a federal sentence.
Prosecutors said when Zahn was sentenced to a four-year prison term he would
likely have to serve 85% of that sentence with time off for good behavior, which would have put his release date around June of 2028.
A federal jury convicted Zahn of conspiracy and wire fraud for developing an employee incentive plan that would have reaped huge financial windfalls for him and other top executives if a potential sale of JEA had gone through. The City Council Auditor's discovery of the financial impactof the "performance unit plan" helped sink the sales negotiations and the JEA board later fired Zahn.
U.S. District Judge Brian Davis sentenced Zahn to four years in prison in July 2024. Zahn originally had an Oct. 28, 2024 date to report for prison but Davis extended that to Jan. 27, 2025 so Zahn could deal with extensive hurricane damage to his family's home in Tampa.
The federal government gives inmates an opportunity to shave up to 54 days per year off their sentences for good behavior, which means they can serve 85 percent of a sentence by earning good conduct time.
Inmates can earn additional credits reducing the time they serve by participating in prison-based programs and classes aimed at helping them make a successful transition from prison after serving their sentences.
Federal law also gives inmates the ability to seek a reduction in their sentences based on criteria for compassionate release.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons' projected release of Jan. 12 for Zahn does not detail the reason for that date.
"We do not discuss any individual's conditions of confinement or release plans due to privacy, safety, and security reasons," Taylor said.
Zahn's appeal of his conviction still is pending before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals after the court heard oral arguments in June.
Zahn also filed a grievance in 2020 challenging the JEA board firing him as CEO in a case that would go to arbitration for a resolution.
"There are a number of matters pending before the arbitrator, including an updated schedule for the arbitration hearing and pre-hearing matters," JEA spokeswoman Karen McAllister said. "JEA continues to oppose Mr. Zahn's claims in the arbitration."
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Aaron Zahn heads to release after serving only half his sentence
