Madison Timber Receiver Alysson Mills submitted her required 90 day status report to U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves on March 31. The report documents her slog to recover funds for the victims of Lamar Adams.
The SEC is trying to claw back illegal profits earned by Lamar Adams and promoters of a $164 million Ponzi scheme based on phony timber investments. Adams is incarcerated in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Receiver Alysson Mills represents the SEC in recovering assets for later distribution to the victims. Her efforts include suing promoters who received commissions as well as the Butler Snow and Baker Donelson law firms. Butler Snow settled for $9.5 million. Mills and Baker Donelson are still slugging it out in federal court. However, Ms. Mills went after several banks as well.
Ms. Mils provided new information in her update:
* UPS settled with the SEC for $6.5 million in September. UPS will pay $5 million while the owner of the Madison franchise, Dexter Herring, will "execute a promissory note" for $1.5 million.
A hearing will be held on the settlement on October 26.
* Jon Seawright served 12 months and one day in federal prison while his compadre in crime, Brent Alexander is serving a 60- month sentence of probation that includes two years served under house arrest. They paid $977,044 in restitution.
* The Baker Donelson section gets rather interesting.
Ms. Mills argued Baker Donelson owes $2.8 million.
Trial against Baker Donelson, Seawright, and Alexander began April 20, 2026 and concluded May 20, 2026. The jury found that Seawright and Alexander aided and abetted Lamar Adams; that they acted with Baker Donelson’s apparent authority, such that the law firm is vicariously liable; and separately that Baker Donelson negligently supervised them. For these things it awarded a total of $2.8 million. The jury found that if I had pursued net winners, I would have recovered $10 million for the Receivership Estate. The jury heard I pursued net winners if I had a reason, but it was not permitted to hear any values obtained from those pursuits. Under Mississippi law, a court accounts for the effect prior settlements have on a jury’s verdict, if any, post-trial.
I argue nothing reduces the $2.8 million judgment; when the Court accounts for values I obtained from net winners, it must reduce the $10 million to -$1,220,587.28. I argue I am entitled to ask for attorney’s fees, interests, and costs. Baker Donelson argues the $10 million wipes out the $2.8 million. It argues the Court should not account for values I obtained from net winners. At the same time, Baker Donelson argues the Court otherwise should account for the Receivership Estate’s collections to date, which it says leaves nothing to recover from Baker Donelson. (Baker Donelson contends the Receivership Estate may never recover more than total net losses, which are $53.4 million.) In other words, the Receivership Estate has been too successful. Seawright and Alexander join Baker Donelson’s arguments and also argue they are entitled to an offset for amounts they paid in criminal restitution.
Judge Reeves has not scheduled a hearing in the Baker Donelson case.
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