Jackson Jambalaya

He got off easy. Hope he talked. If not....DOJ dropped the ball.

My bureau contact told me that he is cooperating and will soon be singing to a new grand jury. I would love to be the fly on the grand jury's wall.

At his age it doesn't matter if it's one count or ten. If he gets 20 years without parole on one count it's basically a life sentence. Sentencing guidelines is what I would like to see. Any of you barristers out there know?

More to come...

More to come...

Was his family with him today, Kingfish?

While I realize that 20 years at his age is a life sentence, it sure seems like a LIGHT sentence given the magnitude of the monies involved. Is there something else or is that it?

colette has alot less hair than his portrait shows

Bernie Ebners thought he’d see the light of day......he won’t

David Kaufman has the Alexander / Seawright contingent ....wonder if they know about Bernie?

Meanwhile Baker has lawyers leaving by the drove.....

Wonder if Stacey has moved his money offshore?

20 year at 57 years of age is basically a life sentence. At least when he gets out, he will qualify for senior due at The Country Club of Jackson.

If that’s John Colette in that sketch I’ll kiss your ass

It is quite obvious that this man has no money. Otherwise, lawyers would drag this out until he ran out of it. Therefore, lets plead and see how much we can squeeze out of this.

I heard Michael Billings has lawyered up. My bets are the recruiters will get at least as much time as Lamar

It’s going to be a long, hot summer.

So what happened to all that money? Some portion I'm sure was used to pay off the earliest investors. And then there is that JCC lifestyle he kept up. It will be interesting to see what was left. If none was left, well, maybe that's why we haven't seen a receiver appointed.

Help me out:

Seawright is still a lawyer at Baker Donelson. At least his profile is still on the website.

Why? Is firing him some sort of admission?

@11:23 Maybe the thought of firing him scares them worse than keeping him. Just a thought.

OTOH, they’re claiming they had nooooo idea that the money the fund was loaning him was part of a Ponzi.

Interesting.

Guilty of one (1) count of wire fraud? For a 100 million dollar ponzi scheme? Over at least 7 years? With over 250 investors? One wire?

Bond last week was $25k, so $2,500.00 to go home?

What about after the guilty plea yesterday? Still free at home on bond, or in jail and if so where?

No mention of the other players making millions for pushing the ponzi scheme? Somewhat understandable since it appears they were Mississippi lawyers and a lobbyist, and there may be no other state with a more injustice legal system full of corrupt judges and lawyers; but still, no mention at all?

This deal has a stench. Especially with so little news being reported.

I’m sure there are lots of opinions about whether firing or not firing is an admission. But I would think by not firing him BD is admitting they have no grounds to fire him thus admitting he did nothing wrong.

The most troubling for me is that the MAX Lamar can get is 20 years. He may not get that. And His house arrest is counting. So the longer it takes to figure this out the longer he gets to hang at his CCJ or JCC house (or whatever it’s called).

Well, I guess Jon Seawright was too busy renovating his multimillion dollar house on crane Blvd in Jackson to pay attention to details. This guy is a total moron and so full of himself as it is. He couldn't put his nose in the air any higher if he tried.

11:23 pm

In a word, yes.

11:11 pm If the clip of his house on one local television news channel was his house, quite a bit of the money went into remodeling that house in the last couple of years.

The other two things that struck me in the news clip was that so many people trusted a high school graduate to invest in the commodity market and how many believed a return as high as promised was anything other than " too good to be true".

I bet Bernnie Ebbers wished he was only facing 20....

Lamar may (had better) be at his CCJ house, but you can bet you will not see him at the CCJ.

Lamar may (had better) be at his CCJ house, but you can bet you will not see him at the CCJ.

People, you're not hearing anything because it is an ongoing investigation. Lamar is likely being debriefed daily by the Bureau, along with testimony before a Federal Grand Jury. There will be subsequent indictments and then the fit will hit the shan.

A huge clue is Lamar taking an immediate plea for one count of wire fraud. That is a plea bargain that requires that he cooperate fully and truthfully, or the deal's off. There are bigger fish here for Lamar to give up.

Be patient grasshoppers.

Bond last week was $25k, so $2,500.00 to go home?

It was an unsecured bond, so it cost him nothing. The stench increases.

One piece of good news out of this is that Bill Wilson was the artist!! Yay for Bill!!

Not only are Seawright and Alexander still employed, they have themselves lawyered up and are claiming to be victims as well:

"Brent and Jon are members along with others of Alexander Seawright Timber Fund I LLC. The LLC loaned money to Lamar Adams timber business, which turned out to be a complex financial fraud," said David Kaufman, attorney for Alexander and Seawright. "Brent and Jon were not aware of this fraud, and are profoundly concerned for the people who loaned money with them through the LLC. Alexander Seawright Timber Fund I LLC was a private business completely separate and apart from Baker Donelson, which had no involvement."

https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2018/05/09/first-lawsuit-filed-100-m-ponzi-scheme/584945002/

It is interesting they have gone out of their way to mention this has nothing to do with the firm, considering the firm will likely get sued anyway. They set up their LLCs on firm letterhead, listing the firm's address as the LLC's address. Then you have Alexander's profile (still up) that unbelievably touts:

A rapidly growing area of Mr. Alexander's practice is advising venture capital and related investors on public policy issues. He has passed the Series 65 Registered Investment Advisor Exam, an examination required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) for individuals who serve as principals in, or advisors to, hedge funds that invest in stocks, bonds and other financial instruments. He has also passed the Series 3 National Commodity Futures Exam, an examination required by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the National Futures Association (NFA) and the SEC for individuals who serve as principals in, or advisors to hedge funds which trade futures and options.

https://www.bakerdonelson.com/Brent-Alexander

Why a law firm would want to advertise a non-lawyer lobbyist as doing securities work is beyond me, much less one accused of selling a sitting senior US Senator a Ponzi scheme.

You piranhas who advocate firing people before they're even charged, much less indicted are nuts.

8:23

Shut up Brent

I thin I saw a pooty cat .....
$lyvester —-
Duh duh duh duh
I saw Notheeeenng !!

If you peddled a farce like this, you're either: 1) incompetent as an advisor/severely unintelligent or 2) complicit in perpetuating fraud. Or both. Some young kid out there reading this needs to make a meme/gif that says "Find you someone who will protect and defend you like BD is protecting and defending The Baker Boys."

Incredible that we have not heard more out of Snow Towers on this matter. Maybe the gub'ment is building a case to really lower the boom on them.

And SHAME on the MS BAR if, after all this is said and done, they have not purged the rolls of those who were in bed with Adams and started some discussion with managing partners about how having these investment and lobby wings of law firms is a total sham. It's been said before on these threads, but it's a complete money grab post-tort reform.

The multiple Feds that are involved in this (that the public knows about) are not known for daily updates as these matters progress. And these type of things can often take quite a while to progress. I don't read anything into a lack of official information and I would suggest others don't either.

As to firing various people implicated in this, on what grounds at this point? If anyone gets fired and are cleared, it could be a cause of action against the employer (plus, the firm loses an employee that wasn't guilty of anything). I would guess these guys have contracts, rather than employee-at-will status, and there might be grounds to fire them, but that could still be a minefield if they were cleared. I would think any firm with possible liability through the actions of partners or employees is in a holding pattern until more is known. Based on what is public thus far, if I were making the calls, I certainly wouldn't let anyone implicated do anything that could make things worse, but I wouldn't fire anyone just yet, either. These guys might be assigned to updating the Christmas card list or proofreading the boilerplate.

May 10, 2018 at 8:09 AM quoted the Baker Donelson website -

It has been mentioned before, but the bio info that speaks of "NASD" (National Association of Securities Dealers) licenses is curious. The "NASD" hasn't existed for over 10 years - FINRA is the current reg body - and neither Seawright or Alexander (or Adams) show any registration of any kind through FINRA. Implying you have licenses you do not currently have could be a real problem.

Where did Lamar Adams come from? What is his background? What did he do before all this. Did he wake up one day and decide to be a crook? How did he learn how to do it? Was he always a crook or wake up one day a think I believe I will start a Ponzi the kind that always gets busted?

Don't worry, when their book of business at BD dries up, they'll be gone. Google their names and on the first page of the results are links to timber fraud articles with their names prominently displayed. Not a lot of prospective clients will pick up the phone and call.

What do you mean "Baker has lawyers leaving by the drove"? From the hearing or from the firm? What's your evidence of this?

That goofballs picture on the BD website is enough to give most people a clue.

Y’all think he will get 20 years? Please. Ivon Johnson was the only person convicted of wrong doing in the RSS witch hunt and he got probation. Maybe if Lamar tells the feds he can give them RSS he can go home too.

To 8:09, quoting from a Jimmie Gates article is never very helpful or informative. I'm sure Jimmie is a good enough guy, but he has no knowledge of the legal system and its quirks. For example, the article never identifies who David Kaufman is representing (he is exactly who I would hire in this situation, by the way). Is he representing Baker D, Alexander/Seawright, Alexander, or Seawright? He is a good an ethical lawyer who would not be representing more than one of them, and the one he is representing has an interest to protect. For example, if he is representing Baker D, he would be doing everything he could to put distance between it and those two. If he is representing either of the individuals, he should be advocating against one of the others. It's all very interesting.

My prediction is that all involved will get a slap on the wrist and minimal fine, if that. Yeah, I know that the Feds are involved, but this is still the great state of Mississippi, don't forget that. Good ole' boy politics and jurisprudence rule in this state, always has and always will. I bet all these shysters will be laughing it up together on game days in the Grove this fall and concocting their next big scheme to bilk another group of 'investors' out of million$.

Who is this Willam Mchenry lawyer? Which firm is he with?

Puhleeeze. 20 years???? The average Fed WCC sentence is 27 MONTHS. In reality, "According to 2015 sentencing data, white-collar criminals who earn a substantial assistance motion from the government, typically receive a sentencing reduction of approximately 70 to 75 percent from the bottom of the sentencing range. In many cases, white-collar criminals who provide substantial assistance to the government will avoid completely a jail sentence."

OK, so 5 years, with 4 years suspended, and credit for "time served". He does 10 months in a country club MAX. Or walks on probation most likely. And even less for later participants after recent rulings.

The ONLY people punished in White Collar cases are the investigators. They serve 2 or 3 years of endless days to see Fauntleroy walk out on probation.

But Biff is having a conniption fit as Pap Paw sold the family acreage, Biff never amounted to much and is too lazy to farm, and he thought it was more Easy Street inheritance and good ole boy shenanigans in the Grove, CCJ, and up in Bricktown. Cry me a river.

Richer Hicks. Crying over a Get Richer Quicker scheme gone bad that they Hee Hawed about and gloated over in the Grove.

You still have your Tater Tax Cuts and all the Tax Dodges our local "wealth managers" can come up with, Biff. No worries.

You'll never have a callus or spend a day punching a time clock, much less dodging bullets, O "Job Creator." Relax.

Mchenry is not a lawyer. He offices with Lamar in Madison

Tell that to the Evans brothers. They are both doing over ten years.

Who is Michael Billings that "lawyered up" ???

I can hear the new Voir Dire question when picking a jury: "Please raise your hand if you are offended or might be biased because the lawyer for the other side works for BD, a law firm with lawyers who have been reported in the news to have connections with Lamar Adams who perpetrated the largest ponzi fraud in Mississippi history".

Michael Billings is one of the promoters of the Ponzi. He was associated with Butler Snow for a while. Word is he sold the most of the Ponzi and made millions. She has several condo around the country and is quite the jet setter

@9:38 go read Butler Snow's latest press release where they brought over a crew of BD partners just as all this news broke. Baker has also lost a number of business/healthcare/government attorneys in the past 18-24 months. Some out on their own or to smaller shops, some out to government work and some out to larger (15+) local firms.

10:55 you sir are brain dead if you think he only does 10 months.

Reading comprehension is still very weak for many of the readers of this blog. Sad!

KF I’m confused , u spoke oh MB as a
Promoter all The While SWall and PTrust
We’re listed as Promoters too.
Has SW already sqealled like a pig to
Protect his own hide .....
Meanwhile JNelson was a Stockholder in
PTrust so How did he escape the eyes of
The Law ....

BD has been letting go of good honest lawyers, and throwing them to the curb over the last few years. Apparently the powers that be at BD who make the the important decisions for the firm would rather have crooked unethical lawyers working for them. In fact, they value these types so much that in the case of Seawright, they elected him to the Board of Baker Donelson! What a joke.

still like to know who signed off on the timber cruises? Was a forester involved or did Larmar fake those too?

3:15 my question is what notary was he using to notarized documents?

3:54. What is your point? An acknowledgment from a notary in something like a timber deed is just an acknowledgment that the signature is genuine. If what is being signed is sworn (and a deed wouldn't be), the notary is just acknowledging the signature and administering an oath to the person signing that they (not the notary - the signatory) swears the document is accurate and truthful.

A notary stamp does not, and should not, provide any type of assurance of the accuracy or truthfulness of the document itself. In fact, a notary under law has "neither the duty nor the authority to investigate, ascertain, or attest the lawfulness, propriety, accuracy, or truthfulness of a document or transaction involving a notarial act." A notary is not tasked with discovering fraud.

It is common and accepted practice for notaries to notarize documents and have no idea what the document does or says - nor do they have a duty to do otherwise. Most notaries would notarize your grocery list if you really wanted them to.

retired special agent at 7:52am ....he gets it right. ive read ever comment on this thread and all of the ones about how adams is only going to get lashed with a wet noodle are BS ....escpecially 9:44. i dont know where all you numb-nuts got all your vast legal knowledge , but with comments like that , you wouldn't make it very far in the practice of federal criminal law. go back to wishing you were still in college at your little SEC utopias.

Well, 4:26 you failed to take into account the fact that the notarized docs were faked. So, unless Lamar was also faking I.D.s and acting as the person who’s signature was notarized then I would say there’s a notary out there with some splainin to do...

I just soon all the attorneys leave. Who really likes them anyway except other attorneys.

I know a William (Bill) McHenry living 'round here who is from Greenville originally. He would be about 72. What's his role in all of this, if any? Being 'officed with' an accused is not exactly a 'role'.

McHenry is named in a civil suit

If you peddled a farce like this, you're either: 1) incompetent as an advisor/severely unintelligent or 2) complicit in perpetuating fraud. Or both.

Amen on that point! It seems that Alexander/Seawright's chief (perhaps only?) security option was timber rights through Lamar and his morass of shell companies (red flags right there). It was certainly one of the firm's biggest products.

Let's assume they were indeed operating in good faith (not that I buy that, but just for the sake of argument). To say that they knew nothing of the fraudulent underpinnings of an investment that probably accounts for 75%, if not 100%, of their business is an outright admission of lack of due diligence, gross incompetence, and a complete disregard for the integrity of their firm and their clients' assets. And that's a BEST case scenario.

The questions now are:

Is Alexander/Seawright still an operating entity?
Are they still permitted to advise clients and offer investment advice?
Can one still use them to invest in legitimate securities?
What percentage of their clients were impacted, if not wiped out, by this?

It would be interesting to know the current state of that LLC. It would certainly provide a peek into whether or not it was just a vehicle for perpetuating the scheme.

@2:27...YOU'RE confused? What the hell are you saying?

Are you usin' code names?

Where is this scumbag from? Seems to me his family had idea of what you were doing. They didn’t care they were addicted to the Northeast Status. Don’t you get, we who grew up with real money, last thing they want to be is one of you Fake One A Be’s. Greed is a Wicked Addiction!

7:26 He’s from Indianola. His family is middle class. His dad was one of the best men you’d ever meet. His mom is a sweetheart. His brother and 2 sisters are the most straight laced people I know. Seems like Lamar just got a taste of “the good life” and got into something with no way out. I can tell you first hand he was raised the right way. His dad worked 3 or 4 jobs to put 4 children through private school. Mr. Bill was his name. And his brother Darry has always worked hard to provide for his family. It’s just heartbreaking all the way around.
As for his family knowing, I’m not convinced that’s true. They may have been suspicious but Brandon is kinda snobby but clueless. And Drake doesn’t need daddy’s money. Wifey is loaded.

It has been my experience in covering these cases over the years that the family does not know. There was one big fraud case where the family was victimized as well. Husband took off after cleaning out the wife's bank account. One teen kid came to court just to see what dad looked like because he hadn't been seen since he took off.

The family often is left destitute and has to fend for themselves.

Lamar was raised right. His dad and mom were honest, hard working people. His brother and sisters, all honest and good people. They all work hard and actually serve others in their daily lives. There is no explanation as to why one of four children would stray from family values. Plain and simple greed, status hunger perhaps? I know this family. Grew up in the neighborhood with them. I’m certain they are appalled, embarrassed, and ashamed to be linked to Lamar.

So much for the character witnesses. Now back to the story...

We are more in shock and pain than anything else. Completely blindsided by all of this. It’s a nightmare that will never be woken up from.