BigLaw partner is charged with securities fraud in connection with alleged Ponzi scheme
Image from Shutterstock.
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz health care partner Jon Darrell Seawright has been charged along with a former lobbyist at the firm for their roles in an alleged Ponzi scheme involving fake timber purchases.
Seawright, 49, and former public policy adviser Ted Brent Alexander, 55, both of Jackson, Mississippi, were charged in a February 2020 indictment unsealed Thursday, Law360 reports.
Federal prosecutors allege that Seawright and Alexander solicited over $20 million from more than 50 investors in the scheme between early 2011 and late 2018. Both men pleaded not guilty Thursday.
Lobbyist, lawyer accused of role in $85M lumber Ponzi scheme cdispatch.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cdispatch.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
They are accused of soliciting more than $20 million from over 50 investors.
Arthur Lamar Adams is already serving time for his role in the $100 million Ponzi scheme.
A court-appointed receiver is still trying to recover assets for victims.
Two Jackson men, accused of defrauding investors as part of a massive $100 million Ponzi scheme spearheaded by Arthur Lamar Adams, are set for trial in July.
The Ponzi scheme, the largest in Mississippi history, affected dozens of victims across multiple states.
Ted Brent Alexander, 55, and Jon Darrell Seawright, 49, appeared Thursday in federal court in Jackson, where they pleaded not guilty to six counts each related to the scheme, acting U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and FBI Special Agent in Charge Michelle Sutphin said in a news release.