MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. was taken into federal custody after turning himself in Friday morning.

He is charged with bribery and kickbacks concerning federal funds and six counts of attempted tax evasion, according to a federal indictment.

The 17-page indictment says that 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. 

Ford Jr. entered a not guilty plea in court on Friday morning.

By the afternoon, he was out on a $25,000 bond and has reportedly surrendered his passport. Ford Jr. has been told to not have contact with certain individuals and that he cannot violate any laws while out on bond.

His attorney, Michael Scholl, says they’ve known about the investigation for a while. 

“I’ve been talking to the U.S. Attorney’s office for a while,” Scholl said. “We’ve just recently learned of the indictment. They agreed to give me a call and allow us to turn him in this morning.”

The indictment centers on a computer repair and services company Ford and members of his family operated while he served on the Memphis City Council and later the Shelby County Commission.

The indictment alleges that the company received hundreds of thousands of dollars from various nonprofits that were also receiving grants from Memphis City Council and/or Shelby County Commission, while Ford was in office, between 2017 and 2021.

Allegedly, nonprofit groups made covert payments to Ford Jr. , who used his public office to secure grants for the nonprofits.

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.

WREG crews captured photos of Ford going to the Odell Horton Federal Building and talking to his attorney. His father, city councilman Edmund Ford Sr., was also present.

“God is good all the time, and y’all will be surprised,” Ford Sr. said. “My son is very good, very great person. When you try to do things for the community and things like that, you get bad people always focusing on that good person.”

Michael G. Whaley, chairman, released the following statement:

“The news involving Commissioner Edmund Ford, Jr., if proven true, is disheartening. At this time, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners shall defer to the legal process. Be assured that we take ethics and our responsibility to the citizens of Shelby County seriously. I am currently sponsoring an ordinance to amend our local ethics rules and protocol for the Shelby County Ethics Commission to increase its functionality. We will continue to faithfully serve the public in carrying out our duties.”

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 approved for funding used that same money to pay Ford Jr. for computers from his business – E and J Computer Services and Repair.

In 2021, WREG learned Ford Jr. was investigated for an alleged ethics violation involving a $450,000 county grant approved for the non-profit Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South. 

His business sold computers to the group, resulting in a $45,000 profit. At the direction of Ford, prosecutors say the executives disguised their payments to him.

Ford Jr. allegedly did not properly disclose his dealings with the nonprofit before the vote. Due to a conflict of interest, the case was then sent to District Attorney General Robert Carter in Middle Tennessee.

The indictment also says Ford Jr. did not report the payments to the IRS as income. Instead, on his tax return, he allegedly claimed that the computers were donated.

In 2023, the FBI executed a search warrant at his Whitehaven home, which his father, Ford Sr., owns.

In a statement, Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South told WREG it is “fully cooperating with the authorities on this matter.”

WREG pressed county officials at the time, including Chief Administrative Officer Harold Collins.

“The ethics ordinance only prescribes that elected and appointed officials adhere to policies that do not bring reproach upon Shelby County government,” Collins said.