JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Former CEO, Aaron Zahn, is not the only one facing a federal trial for the JEA scandal. Ryan Wannemacher is also facing charges of conspiracy and wire fraud, but people don’t know as much about him, so we did a little digging to find out.
Wannemacher’s last job was Chief Financial Officer at JEA. He has a bachelors degree in financial consulting. JEA explained in a biography that he once worked for JP Morgan Chase as Vice President of Investment Banking. This included working with utility companies around the country.
Wannemacher joined JEA in April of 2015 as Director of Financial Planning and Analysis. In April 2018, he became Chief Financial Officer. He reported to Zahn during Zahn’s time as CEO and interim CEO.
Prosecutors say it was during that time that Wannemacher and Zahn created and designed the bonus plan, called a Performance Unit Plan or PUP.
According to the indictment, that included preparing a spreadsheet that showed the bonus plan could have paid out $345 million.
Wannemacher was terminated from JEA on December 27th, 2019. Like Aaron Zahn, he entered a not guilty plea and if convicted, could face up to 25 years in prison.
As he walked out of court today on $100,000 bond, he and his attorneys did not comment.
Wannemacher was ordered by Judge Monte Richardson to turn over his passport, and he must stay in the continental U.S. as he awaits trial.