Newton commissioners acquitted of money laundering face retrial on other charges

Two suspended Newton County commissioners, including the board’s chair, were found not guilty Wednesday of several money laundering charges in federal court tied to a real estate deal, but their cases aren’t over just yet.

A jury deadlocked on additional counts against Commission Chair Marcello Banes and District 3 Commissioner Stephanie Lindsey, and a mistrial was declared. They will face a retrial on those charges, which for Lindsey include making and subscribing a false tax return and for Banes, wire fraud and theft of government funds, officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia said.

Brian Mendelsohn, who represented Lindsey during the trial that began July 17, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a statement that he was able to prove to the jury “there was no evidence of any unethical or illegal actions.”

“We had vigorously maintained from the beginning that not only were these two prominent and respected Newton County residents not guilty of any fraud or theft of honest services, but the federal prosecutors office should have never considered filing any actions against her,” he said.

Banes’ attorney, Emily Ward, confirmed the acquittal on some of the charges and said she had no details on the U.S. Department of Justice’s plan to retry the charges the jury couldn’t agree on.

Banes and Lindsey were suspended from office by Gov. Brian Kemp in March 2025 following their first indictment and a review. According to executive orders from that time, they are to remain suspended until a final disposition or their terms expire.

The pair’s attorneys did not immediately respond to inquiries about their current status on the board. An interim chair and commissioner are currently filling their seats.

Banes, an ordained minister, was elected to the Newton Board of Commissioners in 2016 and is the board’s first Black chair, according to the county’s website. Lindsey is a lawyer and real estate broker who was elected as commissioner of District 3 in June 2024.

Banes and Lindsey were first indicted in 2024 on the money laundering charges, on which they were found not guilty. Prosecutors had accused Banes, who represented Newton County on the Joint Development Authority (JDA) board, of helping broker the sale of a roughly 40-acre JDA-owned tract to a company in 2018. As part of a deal, the company, identified in records only as ‘Company A,’ agreed to pay a $150,000 real estate commission to Lindsey without knowing Banes would receive a large cut, court documents said.

In January 2019, Banes voted along with other JDA members to sell the parcel to Company A, the DOJ previously said. Banes, according to the indictment, never told anyone at the JDA that Company A had agreed to pay Lindsey upon the completion of the deal.

Banes was also acquitted of a charge accusing him of lying to the FBI about the deal during the bureau’s investigation.

“We are proud of the trial team’s work and are committed to prosecuting the serious tax fraud, wire fraud, and theft of government funds counts that remain lodged against the defendants following this partial acquittal,” U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said via email. “We look forward to a retrial on these counts at the Court’s earliest convenience.”