MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. has been told “not” to contact several people as his bribery and kickbacks case makes its way through the courts.

Ford Jr. is known to speak out at Commission meetings, but in a court filing, he has been ordered to avoid all contact with any person who could be a victim or witness in the investigation. Those names have now been released.

The names listed were Adrienne Boldon, Trudy Coats Warren, Tamara Jordan, Lesundra Robinson, and Kim Claxton.

What the document doesn’t say is how the individuals are related to the case.

Tamara Jordan is listed as the primary contact for the Non-Profit Memphis Women Aiming Higher, the organization that received thousands of dollars in County grants sponsored by Ford Jr.

A county commission meeting video shows Jordan appearing before the commission back in December of 2022.

“Our organization supports a curriculum generally that is not taught in the classroom such literacy, STEM, work force and soft skills, ethics and leadership skills,” Jordan said.

During that meeting, the Memphis Women Aiming Higher organization was awarded $60,000.

Another person listed for Ford to keep his distance from is LeShundra Robinson. Robinson is the Founder and CEO of UCAN, a bullying awareness program for adolescents.

Robinson was featured in a story on WREG back in 2017, where she talked about the impact of bullying.

“There are so many students in the schools going through the same situations. They are thinking about committing suicide,” Robinson said.

UCAN also appeared before the County Commission, requesting and getting thousands of dollars in grants, sponsored by Commissioner Ford Jr.

There is no word on whether the two business leaders will testify against Ford or if they face legal hurdles themselves as allegations center on kickbacks given to the commissioner.

We do know that Ford’s job with the city is now on hold. He worked in the library system. But in a statement released Tuesday, a city official said, “As of March 3, Edmund Ford, Jr. has been placed on administrative leave without pay.”

Right now, there are also calls for a probe into how grant money is distributed by county commissioners.