UPDATE: “As of March 3, Edmund Ford, Jr. has been placed on administrative leave without pay,” said the City of Memphis.
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Shelby County Mayor’s Office requested to pause Edmund Ford Jr.’s grant making during his federal prosecution on Monday.
Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. was taken into federal custody after turning himself in Friday morning.
He was charged with bribery and kickbacks concerning federal funds and six counts of attempted tax evasion, according to a federal indictment. He pleaded not guilty in court.
Ford Jr. is out on a $25,000 bond. He is set to appear in court on March 6.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris released the following statement:
“The federal criminal indictment of Commissioner Ford is devastating news for the residents he serves and for all of Shelby County. Considering these allegations of criminal corruption, it is appropriate for the Commission to stop Commissioner Ford from additional grant-making and participating in the County grant-making process while the prosecution is ongoing. While there is a presumption of innocence until proven guilty, his continued grant-making as a commissioner unnecessarily taints the process and undermines the credibility of this Commission program and the non-profits who participate. We will convene a meeting this week with relevant legal authorities and county officials to figure out what other steps, if any, must be taken immediately.”
Ford Jr. is accused of using his public office to secure grant funds for three undisclosed non-profits and then “corruptly” receiving financial payments from those same three organizations.
The company allegedly received hundreds of thousands of dollars from various nonprofits that were also receiving grants from the Memphis City Council and/or Shelby County Commission while Ford was in office between 2017 and 2021.
If Ford Jr. is convicted of bribery, he could face a maximum penalty of ten years in prison with a $100,000 fine and three years of supervised release. If he is convicted of attempted tax evasion, he could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison with a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
The government says the investigation dates back to 2017 when Ford Jr. served on the Memphis City Council and, eventually, the Shelby County Commission. When he served as the budget chair, he was on a three-person panel that would review applications and determine which non-profit organizations would receive grant funds, the indictment says.
Federal agents say executives with three organizations, UCan of Memphis, Primetime Parenting and Memphis Women Aiming High, approved for funding used that same money to pay Ford Jr. for computers from his business – E and J Computer Services and Repair.
Agents said he even had the non-profits disguise their payments to him. He’s also accused of not reporting any income he received on his taxes.
WREG has reached out to all of the organizations reportedly involved in the scheme. We have not heard back.
