Monday, December 24, 2018

Ole Miss Repays Money in Lamar Adams Case

Receiver Alysson Mills recovered more money and continues to file more lawsuits as the SEC seeks to claw back all profits made in the Lamar Adams Ponzi Scheme. Ms. Mills filed her required sixty-day report with U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves Friday. 

The SEC accused Lamar Adams of operating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded 150 investors out of more than $85 million since 2005, in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court on April 20.   The SEC said Adams sold bogus timber rights, deeds, and promissory notes guaranteeing 13% interest rates.  Mr. Adams pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of wire fraud.  The Justice Department said in that case Adams defrauded 320 investors of more than $164 million but over $87 million was paid to investors to keep the Ponzi scheme going.  The Court sentenced Adams to serve 235 months in prison 

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves appointed attorney Alysson Mills to be the receiver in the case.  She is recovering assets and  providing progress reports every sixty days to the court.  Mills sued several promoters of the scheme to recover over $16 million in commissions from several "promoters" who allegedly helped Adams sell his phony timber investments to unsuspecting investors.  She has recovered over $2 million.

Most of the report just mentions actions already covered on this website such as the lawsuit filed last week against two Jackson law firms.  However, there are some new tidbits of information.

*Court approved settlement with Wayne Kelly that is estimated to be $2 million on December 19.  Kelly will surrender $836,000 in cash, $500,000 in retirement accounts, cash value of his life insurance policy, and his interests in several LLC's.  He must also sign a $400,000 promissory note that is payable in 2 1/2 years.  However, it can be prepaid if he pays $100,000 in one year, $200,000 in 547 days, or $300,000 if paid in 730 days.

*Settlement with Michael Billings is believed to be "likely." 

*Litigation against William McHenry continues.

*Ole Miss repaid $349,826 of $402,100 that Adams donated to the Ole Miss Athletic Foundation over the last ten years.  Ms. Mills said she expects to settle with the Foundation for the remaining $52,264.

*The Receiver expects to settle a claim with the children of Lamar Adams for cash gifts of $213,000.

*A contempt motion was filed against Baker Donelson attorney Jon Seawright and Lobbyist Brent Alexander.  The two members of Baker Donelson were promoters of the timber fund.  Transactions were notarized at UPS.  They sued UPS and recovered $100,000.   Ms. Mills said the lawsuit violated a court order that stayed all outside litigation in the Lamar Adams case.  The Baker Boyz argue the funds belong only to them and that the settlement does not affect the receivership estate. 

*Ms. Mills thanked the Mississippi Secretary of State for facilitating a settlement with Frank Zito.

* Receiver will sell Mr. Adams' home and vehicle.  She seeks to liquidate his interests in several real estate developments.  However, she said will "facilitate" a sale where the partners in each project are able to sell the shares at a fair market price. 

*Receivership Estate’s account at Hancock Bank current balance $2,401,236.20
Previous balance as of October 19, 2018 $2,124,386.32

Delta Farm Lands Investments, LLC proceeds +$323,440.88
Frank Zito settlement—first installment +$100,000.00
Political contribution
refund +$500.00
C Spire Wireless refund +$4.63
Interest +$3,191.35
Bank fees -$23.00
Receiver/Receiver’s counsel’s fees/expenses -$150,063.98
U.S. Treasury** -$200.00

Related Posts
Receiver sues Butler Snow & Baker Donelson
 Lamar Adams swindled over $164 million from victims in Ponzi scheme.  
Billings Battles Receiver 
Receiver goes after millions in commissions in timber Ponzi scheme.  
Receiver records $2 million.  
Lamar Adams Sentencing Postponed 
 Federal Home Cooking in Lamar Adams Case? 
Tree Falls Against Pinnacle in Lamar Adams Case 
WSJ Blasts Judge Reeves in Lamar Adams Case 
Judge to SEC & SOS: Not so Fast 
McHenry sues Lamar Adams, claims he was duped.  
A look into how the timber scheme worked.
SEC opposes Delbert's opposition.  
 SEC wants receiver in Ponzi scheme case, Delbert opposes.
Victim sues Timber Trolls 
Lamar Adams pleads guilty.  
SEC: Ponzi scheme began in 2004. 
Flashback Friday
Clearcutting the timber. 
Wicker wobbed in Ponzi scheme.
Pinnacle Trust issues statement on Ponzi scheme
Lamar Adams waives indictment.
Feds: Lamar Adams took over $100 million in Ponzi scheme.
TIM-BERRR!!!





37 comments:

Anonymous said...

How is Seawright still employed and still a lawyer?

Anonymous said...

'Bout time that college did SOMETHING that demonstrates "integrity". Oxford is so far in a hole public image-wise that it's disturbing. Will the enrollment EVER come back? Doubtful...and not unless they demonstrate a whole basket full of quality actions that speak to service - and not "self-serving". Time will tell.

Anonymous said...

some of these folks better enjoy this Christmas as much as possible as it's probably going to be their last out of prison or at a minimum, gainfully employed.

Anonymous said...

11:41 Nah, you are over-reacting as enrollment will be up. OM can send out student recruiters and if prospects don't agree to come to OM the recruiters can grab the recruits' food, cough up snot balls for the food, and curse the students. At least that is the favored method by the profs at OM.

Ben Dover said...

You go girl! Claw back that money from the plantemptation.

Anonymous said...

Has there been any mention yet of money he donated to churches? I'll be interested to see if they are willing to claw back that money as well or if they'll let it be.

Anonymous said...

GTHOM!

Anonymous said...

The continued employment of those involved in this is quite a mystery.

Anonymous said...

No wonder they couldn't afford to match the bids for Dean.

Anonymous said...

"potential ongoing criminal investigations"[p.2] by "the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Mississippi, the FBI, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Mississippi Secretary of State's Office" [p.9]. Who all are targets? And maybe that explains why BD hasn't done anything with Alexander and Seawright yet.

Anonymous said...

I have no dog in the Ole Miss-Mississippi State fight. I don't even live in Mississippi anymore.

Some of you people need to get a life; your obsession has consumed you.

Someone tell me what I've got wrong with the following:

1. Some douchebag crook, who happens to be an uneducated sidewalk alum, gave a portion of his ill-gotten, criminal proceeds to the Ole Miss athletic department.

2. Those proceeds have now been largely returned.

3. Ole Miss is in no way culpable in any of this.

Seriously, what am I missing?

There's plenty of stuff to bust on Ole Miss about. This case isn't one of them. Was it Ole Miss's fault that the father-and-son scumbag team of Dick & Zack Scruggs were so greedy over relative chump-change legal fees that they bribed a judge?

No. That wasn't Ole Miss's doing, either.

Really, folks. Get a hobby. Or a girlfriend.

Anonymous said...

4:46, of the ten previous posts in this thread, none mention the sports rivalry and one post is an acronym used in the rivalry. Yet 4:46 gives a long post regarding obsession within the rivalry.

There is obsession here alright, it is lies within 4:46.

Anonymous said...

4:46 Um, apparently you're very naive about the "connections" that run through the state. It ain't about football at all. It's about how the "inner circle" of OM alum/redneck non-alum all quietly yearn for a return to the past when OM was considered something special - and for no other reason than the fact that it proudly and brazenly continued the lost cause of white supremacy long after the Civil War under the guise of "higher education". It still continues today, and emanates from that plantation in Oxford that is rapidly becoming a haven for those whites yearning for a place to retire with their own....who regularly claim, "We're just better than you" to everyone now....black, brown, and white.

Anonymous said...

Butler Snow is a big boy! Big Boys fall hard........

Anonymous said...

@4:46 you are correct. Ole Miss received money that they had no idea was tainted. Ole Miss is in no way at fault.

You mention Dickie Scruggs though. Let's remember that the Chancellor of Ole Miss wrote a letter on Ole Miss letterhead, therefore signifying that the letter was the official position of the university. It stated that Mr. Scruggs was the finest person he knew and he begged for leniency. The Chancellor was speaking for both himself and the entire university. So the official Ole Miss position on bribing judges is not a good one.

Anonymous said...

Name a law firm in the United States that has 'fallen' due to scandal or corruption.

The pissant 5-man firm of Dick Scruggs doesn't count.

Anonymous said...

@4:13 If you think Adams didn't have a "cozy" relationship with the OM Athletic Department.....then you're either an idiot, or a liar. The "connections" run deep with the OM faithful, and keeping dollars flowing in their direction, and the university's.....is what Mississippi business and politics is mostly about. OM is in damage containment mode and knows it is about to run out of road with scandal after scandal after scandal, so they paid up to get their name out of the limelight. The lack of institutional control stuck because it was, and still is true. They have no idea what direction the college is going because they don't know who they are anymore.....and this has nothing to do with football.....fielding a decent football squad is the least of that organization's problems, and that they are having a very rough time facing.

Anonymous said...

Going after the man’s kids too

Savage

Anonymous said...

They have no morals.

- Hugh Freeze

Anonymous said...

No law firms have a national presence in the public consciousness. A handful of CPA firms do have such a presence, KPMG, Price Waterhouse, etc. Accounting firms typically hold a higher level of trust in the public consciousness. There was once another such accounting firm at such a level, Arthir Andersen, and it fell due to scandal and corruption.

I'm not saying Butler Snow is in trouble, but anything can happen.

Anonymous said...

A friend of mine saw another industrial size shredder being delivered to the B-S building. Speculation is that the other one burned up due to very high usage. Maybe this is just a routine end-of-year housekeeping function.

Anonymous said...

4:46 is dead on. 7:51 is a perfect example. He doesn't like the Ole Miss football team so he spouts John Birch Society type allegations about some white supremacist conspiracy. It would be funny if it weren't so pitiful.

It really must be a miserable existence to spend all your energy focused on your college football team's chief rival. Get a hobby for Pete's sake.

Tearing others down will never lift you up.

Anonymous said...

4:46- Hugh, is that you?

Anonymous said...

So when does Lamar report to prison? Jan 1, is it?

How soon will we see the principles of Alexander Seawright on that same path? It must've been a tough holiday for the Baker Boyz without those Christmas bonus packages of cash Lamar used to send to them at the BD offices. That and the knowledge that this will likely be their last Christmas outside jail for a few years.

Anonymous said...

Name a law firm in the United States that has 'fallen' due to scandal or corruption.

Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler in Florida went down hard a decade ago when it was determined that the partners, particularly Scott Rothstein, were running a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme. Sound familiar?

I agree with the poster above that few law firms maintain a national presence, but to suggest that no law firms have collapsed due to scandal, malfeasance, or general mismanagement is absolutely ludicrous.

Anonymous said...

@10:33 Observations are not "Tearing others down...." I'm an Ohio State alum, and couldn't care less about Mississippi football. Your pathetic "victim" stance is typical of OM types. Problems must be acknowledged before they're solved.....but based on your perspective, if you were a doctor and identified cancer in a patient, you'd be too frightened of telling them for fear of not being considered "positive". OM is filled with cancers, and they refuse to acknowledge it they and you need to own it. And like they said above, football is the least of their problems.

Anonymous said...



1;47. I did not go to ole miss but have to laugh at an Ohio State grad talking about Ole Miss not acknowledging a problem before they try to solve it. Your head coach, athletic director and asst director covered 6-7 years for a coach who abused and beat his wife. The only reason they fired him was publicity and suspended the coach 3 games. Yea Ohio state really solved that issue. Their coach just stepped down to becomes asst athletic director. You f’ing pompous ass, screw you and Ohio.

Anonymous said...

@7:38 Buckeye here again, guess what? I agree with everything you said! LOL That's the difference! OM can't bring itself to admit it's problems and that's why it's image (and enrollment) continues to sink....especially in Mississippi! Just own up to the corrupt and arrogant crap! Who's pompous? LOL

Anonymous said...

Congrats to the Buckeye on the huge recruiting day. Getting 3 5 star guys to sign up after the train wreck of a season is definitely not suspicious at all especially with that star of a head coach no one has ever heard of. I think it was a good move keeping Meyer on staff too. You definitely want a guy like that behind the scenes to provide some moral direction to the whole university. Also, good luck with the rampant academic cheating that you guys are dealing with. Hopefully 2019 is the year you can make some strides there.

Anonymous said...

I've seen a lot of Arthur Andersen comparisons, but you cannot compare a law firm to a CPA firm. Law firms owe duties to their clients. Public accounting firms auditing publicly traded companies are "independent". Their duties extend to others, not just generating an audit that makes the client happy. That's why Arthur Andersen imploded for accounting scandals, but Vinson & Elkins (Enron's law firm that facilitated all of their transactions) is still alive and well. Butler Snow and Baker will be just fine.

Anonymous said...

@10:01am Buckeye again....and AGAIN - all true, all true. OS has much to clean up, and Meyer's "spin" was a disgrace....but why can't OM admit to what is true rather than spinning and defending everything as not true? Their hands are reaching into every pocket in Mississippi......but people are growing wise and slapping them back....word on the street.

Anonymous said...

How do so many people with no connection to Ole Miss know so much about Ole Miss?

Anonymous said...

@12:50 Fair question....simple answer: Well-moneyed OM alum/non-alum brag about how OM will always find how to "get their way" to anyone who worships the Oxford plantation - which is a glaring anachronism nationally. The integration with Jim Meredith in 1962 and the subsequent riots that left 2 dead, 300 injured is considered the last battle of the Civil War....just 47 years ago. But that battle still quietly rages on in the hearts and minds of many Mississippians who are still loyal to the lost cause, shouting their rebel war cry: Never! Funny thing is, they don't even know why. Their just racist to the bone.

Anonymous said...

Fair question. Dumb answer.

Anonymous said...

@2:14 Sooo, what's your theory? Just name calling? How many shysters in this case do you think are directly or indirectly associated with, or claim to be fans of OM? All of them is a likely answer.....“Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action”. (i.e. on purpose) Dozens of these idiots are associated with OM, and that's why OM paid up quickly to get the stink off of them.

Anonymous said...

OM paid quickly, because rhe receiver had a dead lock cinch claim. Adams stole the money and gave some of it to OM. Others will follow suit.

Anonymous said...



Did Lamar report today to slammer?



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