JEA trial: Ex-CFO Ryan Wannemacher reacts to not guilty verdict
Former JEA chief financial officer Ryan Wannemacher talks after a federal grand jury returned a not guilty verdict on counts of conspiracy and wire fraud.
First Coast News
After a federal jury acquitted Ryan Wannemacher on conspiracy and wire fraud charges in March, the former JEA chief financial officer is working in the utility industry again with two other former JEA leaders: Melissa Dykes and Lynne Rhode.
All three were in leadership roles at JEA during the attempted sale of the city-owned utility in 2019. They now are in the executive leadership of Hope Utilities, a private company that owns natural gas and water utilities serving 227,000 customers in nine states.
Wannemacher is vice president and treasurer at Hope Utilities, headquartered in Morgantown, West Virginia.
The CEO of Hope Utilities has a passing connection to JEA. Morgan O’Brien was a finalist in November 2020 for the CEO post at JEA when the board picked Jay Stowe.
Hope Utilities said in a statement that employment of anyone at the company is “contingent upon the successful completion of a thorough background check and comprehensive drug screening.”
“We have no concerns about Mr. Wannemacher’s role as our vice president and treasurer,” the statement said. “His contributions to our company and customers are valuable.“
Wannemacher stood trial with former JEA CEO Aaron Zahn on charges that they conspired to steal from the city of Jacksonville by devising an employee incentive plan that would have generated financial windfalls for JEA employees if the city-owned utility had been sold.
Two federal juries heard the testimony and evidence against them. The jury for Wannemacher acquitted him March 15 while the other jury convicted Zahn for fraud and conspiracy.
U.S. District Judge Brian Davis will sentence Zahn at a hearing scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the federal courthouse in downtown Jacksonville.
During the federal trial, Dykes vouched for Wannemacher’s character, saying he is “one of the most honest people that I know. He has always striven to do exactly what’s right in every part of his life.”
Wannemacher joined JEA as director of financial planning and analysis in 2015 while Dykes was chief financial officer. He then became chief financial officer in 2018. Dykes continued to work for JEA and was chief operating officer for the utility when the board put the utility up for sale in 2019. She later worked a stint as interim CEO until April 2020.
Dykes is chief financial officer for Hope Utilities. Wannemacher also is on the financial side of the organization. He is responsibilities for “all aspects of treasury and financial planning,” a biography of him on the company’s web site says.
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Rhode worked for the city’s Office of General Counsel and was assigned to provide legal guidance to JEA from April 2019 until December 2019 when she resigned as chief legal officer. She is general counsel at Hope Utilities.
Hope Utilities is a holding company for utilities serving customers in Indiana, Maine, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia, Arizona, Michigan and Texas.