Jackson Jambalaya

I can see the value of damage control, but I don't know why Pinnacle needed to issue that statement. If they determined that Madison was potentially fraudulent early in the game, that is a good thing. They took actions to protect their clients and money. God forbid that our legislators had done this due diligence with the "beef plant" and the other scams they invested state funds in over the years.

FWIW, Pinnacle Trust has had a stellar reputation over decades of its existence. I would and still will have no trouble trusting my money to them.

"Pinnacle Trust is not affiliated with him or Madison Timber in any manner."

But was...can you say "claw back?"

I laughed out loud.

I hope no one believes that statement. The SEC Form D for Madison Timber lists Pinnacle Trust. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1475876/000147587609000001/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml

Verb tenses tell a lot here. The statement also did not address whether or not they directed their clients $ there or not.
Do not know if that’s relevant or not (not a financial advisement rules guy) but I did notice that too.

Can't wait for the Baker Donelson statement.

SEC Form D was in 2009. Indictment dates begin with year 2011. Looks like these guys figured out Mr. Adams scam way before anybody else.

if they figured out he was running a scam, why didn't they report him?

10:39, Pinnacle should have figured it out before the Form D. Big time red flag.

first thought: that's a "CYA" statement if I ever read one

....but, if they knew that something was fishy, did they exercise any ethical obligations and report to regulating authorities.

Pinnacle tried to start a fund in 2009 with Madison Timber but couldn’t raise enough capital. It had nothing to do with compliance concerns.

I know nothinnnnng! I swear.

Let's wait and see what any Pinnacle clients have to say - were they advised to get into the scam, or to stay away. I am sure there are plenty clients out there that have some first hand knowledge of the 'investment advice' given - and when.

HOLY SHIT. KF, you are a raging savage for your work on the picture.

You issue a statement because you're suddenly hemorrhaging money.

How convenient of Stacey to direct all questions to his compliance officer.

They knew the score in 2009 when they first filed with the SEC. According to their statement above, Stacey allowed his clients to invest for two years before deciding to get them out.

If Stacey didn't understand it was a fraudulent scheme in '09, why in the world would anyone trust him to invest their money today? A 10%+ guaranteed rate of return on a commodity? During a recession?

Nope. Not buying any of it (Stacey's story or his investments).

Stacey Wall was a guest at Drake's engagement party.

I'm with 10.31 AM: It will be interesting to see how Baker Donelson plays this one. I have seen specific names in the comments on these posts, and somewhere in the docs (the Complaint, I presume) it stated that there were attorneys who were promoting the investments and were paid $4M in fees between the two of them. It seems pretty clear that BD had people involved.

If that is the case, there is no way BD can spin this. Two of your shareholders were promoting investments in a massive Ponzi scheme. It was either ignorance or malice - neither of which looks good for a blue-chip law firm.

I had honestly never heard of "Madison Timber" before this broke (guess I'm not elite enough to have been approached), but just random talk among my workout buddies the past two mornings found one investor in this scam (local MD) and two others that had been approached (but did not invest) by PINNACLE TRUST making this press release comical.

To follow up on 10:20, you don't get to the stage of being listed as a promoter on SEC docs (both Stacey Wall and Pinnacle itself are listed right below Adams) without having done due diligence. Wall isn't a dumbass, but may be a crook.

To 10:10, any "stellar reputation" Pinnacle once had was burned to the ground under the reign of the now-deposed Jeremy Nelson. Will be tough for Wall to recover from letting that turd run his firm AND being involved with the engineer of the biggest Ponzi scheme in MS history.

Pinnacle needs someone else handle their press releases. This is terrible. I wasn't sure of Pinnacle's involvement, but this makes me think they pushed the deal for a while, clients questioned it, so they quit pushing it. The supposed Pinnacle commenter the other day said they dropped it after it didn't get enough funding.

Yes, they need to explain this (put it in Google): Madison Timber SEC Form D

Baker shouldn’t have to spin it very hard, apparently a bunch of their own partners invested and were also screwed. Is no one talking about Butler’s involvement because that con man Billings had the intelligence to get out before he was caught when he was selling on their behalf? Or did BS find out and send him packing before all the damage was discovered?

Century Club members. Big names. Serious $$$. Move over Epps.

This leads one to ask "How solvent is pinnacle". I can assure you, that if I had money with pinnacle and had been approached about this Ponzi scheme, I would get my money out (if you can, and if it is still there) asap. Before this is over, there is a very real possibility that someone who had at one time been invested in this product will have to send the money back (Clawback).

Have you ever attempted to acquire financial documents from a bank or any other financial institution that are more than 7 years old? In my recent experience they don't exist. 7 years seems to be "the ancient document" threshold.

“I did not have sex with that woman, Miss Lewinsky!”

Their own statement contradicts their claim of no involvement:

"Since that time, Pinnacle Trust has not directed nor managed investments for Madison Timber Company or any affiliates".

The words "since that time" clearly indicate that at some earlier time Pinnacle was indeed involved.

Do we know what event triggered the investigation. It seems Ponzi schemes are usually discovered/investigated when either the perpetrator runs out of new investors to the point that he can't generate funds to keep paying out, or a client or employee realizes it is too good to be true and reports.

A lot of commenters are asking whether pinnacle or the other entities had a duty to report their suspicions. But we do not know if they did report. The US Attorney's office for the Southern District of MS does have a tendency to leave wrongdoers in place to continue wrong doing while they try to make a case. Think Ivon Johnson who was left in place for over a year while they tried and failed to make a case against RSS.

Rumor I’ve heard is it was a husband and wife who are both doctors that live in Eastover that tipped off the feds.

I’m hearing a lot of local physicians fell for this investment scam.

Where did Jeremy Nelson land? Found out he was gone- but nobody seems to know where to....

Did Baker D represent him? This WaPo article just says their lawyers lost money. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/prosecutors-mississippi-man-stole-more-than-100m-in-scheme/2018/05/01/a3fc94ba-4d6f-11e8-85c1-9326c4511033_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.437b466f2fb9

H.C. "Buster" Bailey is an expert at a PONZI scheme....Just look a what he did to the investors in First Investments---he is trying to pay $26,400,000 back to people that trusted him. I personally think he will never get it paid back. I would like to know what he did with that kind of money ???????????

Jeremy Nelson - Element Wealth

A big part of this type scam is having a large sales force with each seller making a few bucks. Who sold this fake investment??

Everyone at Baker Donelson is being mighty quiet if their only involvement was a few attorneys losing money.

1:56. Is he the developer interested in the “tourist attraction” turned TIF bond issue associated with the unanimous MSC decision of illegal zoning in Ridgeland, MS?
Bible Belt Mississippi? Sad!

We were for Madison Timber before we were against it... sounds familiar... lol

Pinnacle's logo says "Pyramid Scheme" not "Ponzi Scheme".

https://myelementwealth.com/contact-us/the-team/

Shell game continues.

In the Madoff scandal, the time line for giving back your profits was 6 years. If Pinnacle shut down their involvement by 2009 as that suggests, investors should avoid a clawback, even if they profited.

How many other Repubs are getting burned like Wicker? Serves 'em right.

"In both Ponzi schemes and pyramid schemes, existing investors are compensated by the contributions of new investors. Ponzi scheme participants believe they are earning returns from their investment, while pyramid scheme participants are aware that they are earning money by recruiting new participants."

Johanna Burkett, a spokeswoman for the law firm Baker Donelson, said Alexander and Seawright are both still employed there. Their investment entities typically listed the law firm as their business address, but Burkett said their activity is “personal business of employees of our firm, and is not a firm matter.” Alexander, though a lobbyist, is not a lawyer.

So maybe the firm KNOWS NOTHING!?


“We are reviewing it and their involvement further,” Burkett said. “The firm did not represent Mr. Adams or his companies.”

It probably a matter of some immediate importance just how much that “personal business of employees of our firm, and is not a firm matter,” is really not a firm matter!

Burkett said Baker Donelson, based in Nashville, Tennessee, couldn’t comment further because prosecutors are involved.

It is probably helpful that the firm has some outside help checking out whether or not the firm is actually not on the hook for those "personal business of employees of the firm" matters ?!

Source for italicized quotes: https://wtop.com/national/2018/05/mississippi-senator-confirms-he-lost-money-in-fraud-scheme/

Here is the story about Wicker:

https://federalnewsradio.com/government-news/2018/05/mississippi-senator-confirms-he-lost-money-in-fraud-scheme/

So, it would appear that Brent Alexander used his access Wicker to peddle Adams' timber scheme. 5.03 - I'm with you: it's likely that Alexander got to more of his Washington buddies and hit'em up for some green, earning his commissions. I am almost certain that he is the promoter that was paid $2.4M. If Adams is as big a clown as many have commented on these blog posts, he needed someone with legitimacy (ahem...) to help him raise funds. Alexander was one of his front men.

Putting your name on SEC documents for Ponzi schemes does not make you liable. That is nothing but fake news.

“We’re a financially stable and strong company. Earnings are strong,” Lehman Brothers in September 2008. Sound familiar?
Bet there’s a run on PinnTrust as they aren’t too big to fail.

To be fair, you really can't rate the stability of companies and individuals because they had some "touch" with this guy. He was obviously embedded in the economic establishment. That doesn't mean that all the players cheated somebody (Butler Snow, Baker Donelson, Bank of Clarksdale, River Hills Bank, etc.). Sure- they got duped or were on the margins. That doesn't mean that we all need to get our investment or legal advice from a strip mall in Petal or Laurel. Crooks happen- its unfortunate.

I know the people at Pinnacle and trust and believe in them fully.
Their track record with me is impeccable and my account has flourished under their guidance.
That’s what I know personally and I stand with that instead of the speculation and rumors of posters who have no personal knowledge about any of this.
If you have questions or concerns, go meet with them. If you’re not satisfied, open an account elsewhere. But for goodness sake, enough of the baseless accusations.

@10:36 - quit blaming former employees for the current mess that pinnacle has gotten itself into. It’s like Obama blaming bush for every problem when he’s seven years into his own presidency. Nobody is stupid enough to buy that.

“The main thing about money, Bud, is that it makes you do things you don’t want to do“. Lou Mannheim (Wall Street)

"You can't get a little bit pregnant, son." Lou Mannheim (Wall Street)

Alexander
Seawright
Kelly
Billings
Wicker
The altogether ooky Adams Family (snap snap)

They're all in it and they're all knocked up.

Pinnacle is Not on the up and up, just ask anyone from the Ross Family in Rankin County and look at the current cases against them. Honesty is not their 1st priority.

5:37, if you knew Alexander you wouldn’t call him “legitimate”.

"I know the people at Pinnacle and trust and believe in them fully. Their track record with me is impeccable and my account has flourished under their guidance. That’s what I know personally and I stand with that instead of the speculation and rumors of posters who have no personal knowledge about any of this."

signed - Pinnacle Compliance Officer

The phrases 'impeccable track record' and 'my account has flourished' smack of damage-control concocted by a consultant.

@4:34 AM - Hey Patrick!

After learning of all the names of prominent and brilliant people that have been scammed by the Madison Timber Mafia, I have to say the boys at Pinnacle are smartest of the bunch! They seem to be the only ones that backed out when they smelled a dead wood chuck!! Good grief look at the list.. We have Doctors, Senator, Delta Banks, affluent Blue Bloods, lawyer and law firms all took the bait.....How many of ya'll have your money with Brokers that play golf at CCJ? Did your Broker get burned? Hmmmmmmm..I'd be calling them.....IMO Pinnacle is the exact company i want watching my money when dust clears, They cant be fooled.

Stacey Wall has been pulling the wool over his clients eyes for years. How can someone who does not hold FINRA Series 7,24,65 or 66 licenses claim to manage a wealth management firm?!? I guess that is one of the details he forgot to disclose to his clients much like the multiple Ponzi Schemes he has promoted. The management team at Community Bank is surely questioning their decision to partner with Stacey Wall and Pinnacle Trust for wealth management services. The compliance officer with Pinnacle will have a hard time keeping their ship afloat.

Lost Wabbit.

ugh.... sh*% hitting fan as we speak. Know first hand Pinnacle's statement is a lie. Got to move it, move it!

Brent Alexander was main lobbyist for the Miss. Hospital Assiciation, so he had an in with doctors, hospital administrators, etc. Need to check the hospital foundations and pension funds.

Stacey is lying through his crooked teeth

I did some research on Pinnacle and they are using a “Trust” loophole to no longer be registered with the SEC or with FINRA. You can even go to the FINRA Broker Check and see where their Wealth Advisors are also no longer registered with FINRA nor the SEC. It looks like most had at least done the Series 7 previously but are no longer under the watchful eye of regulators. That is so wrong! So who is guarding the hen house? The Pinnacle fox? The one’s that I know are very nice people but I’m guessing there is more to this story as to why they aren’t being monitored by FINRA or the SEC? I start getting visions of Maddof, Enron, etc.

Trust Companies are under the Banking Commission of the state. Those advisors who are CFP's, CFA's, are still required to complete continuing education every year. Stacey Wall fought very hard to not be under the SEC, and instead form a trust company. He won.

After two years of not being associated with a broker-dealer, their Series 7, 6, 66, etc expire.

Since they are not with a Registered Investment Advisor, they will likely have to "start over" if they move to a securities firm or RIA.

Just Google "Madison Timber SEC form D". It lists Stacy Wall and Pinnacle Trust as "Promoters" LMAO