An Uptown surgeon accused of raping his former wife and illegally recording videos of her and some of his patients has filed a second civil lawsuit against his former business associate -- a man accused of negligent homicide for crashing a Lamborghini into a floodwall in May. The most recent lawsuit broadens the legal battle between Dr. Alireza Sadeghi, 40, and Jason Adams, 30, each of whom face their own criminal court woes on top of the recent civil actions.
Filed on Dec. 2 in Jefferson Parish, Sadeghi's second civil suit accuses Adams of pocketing over $500,000 given over the past year by Sadeghi and his business, Houma Ventures, LLC. That money, the suit alleges, should have gone toward paying a contractor to design and build a construction project on property owned by Sadeghi off Houma Boulevard, but instead was used by Adams for his "own benefit and purposes."
Further, the suit says Adams -- a licensed real estate broker -- was Sadeghi's business manager and was paid a monthly salary by Sadeghi. According to the suit, what Adams allegedly used the $500,000 for remains unknown to to Sadeghi, who stated his requests for those funds be have been refused.
Aside from business dealings, the two have another connection: according to news reports, Sadeghi was the registered owner of the black 2015 Lamborghini Huracan that Adams was driving on May 4 when New Orleans police say he slammed into a floodwall on Tchoupitoulas Street, killing his 23-year-old passenger, Kristi Lirette. Adams was driving 118 mph with a blood-alcohol content of .11 percent -- over the legal 0.08-percent legal limit -- when the crash occurred, authorities said.
Adams has pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide. On Wednesday, an NOPD detective testified at a pre-trial hearing that Adams admitted he'd been drinking on the night of May 4, when the fatal crash occurred. A date has not been set for Adams' trial, though Judge Robin Pittman plans to rule Dec. 20 on Adams' motions to suppress the blood evidence and his statements.
Sadeghi, meanwhile, is battling allegations that he raped his former wife and recorded videos of her as well as other unconscious patients without their consent. Sadeghi pleaded not guilty to second-degree rape and five counts of video voyeurism. Held up by various legal challenges since his arrest in May, Sadeghi's case is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on Jan. 6, court records show.
The suit filed Dec. 2 follows an earlier suit brought by Sadeghi who alleges Adams cashed more than $3.8 million worth of forged or unauthorized checks for personal purposes since last year. Among several allegations, the lawsuit accuses Adams of forging Sadeghi's signature on a $2 million check drawn on an account owned by Sadeghi, with the money used by Adams to pay personal debts and investments.
Adams, however, responded in October that $357,000 of that money was a "severance package" payment to a former staffer with whom the doctor had carried on a sexual relationship -- evidence that Sadeghi knew and trusted Adams enough to act in the surgeon's best interests. Adams said further that he did not forge Sadeghi's signature on the $2 million check; rather, Sadeghi signed the check and received a promissory note, Adams' October filing states. His attorneys have asked the court to dismiss Sadeghi's suit.
David Helpern, an attorney for Sadeghi, said Saturday night that a second suit was filed against Adams for "procedural reasons," in that several litigants named in the suit in the two suits -- including banks and limited liability companies run by Sadeghi and Adams -- differ slightly. Halpern noted that a judge could choose to combine the two suits into one.
An attorney for Adams did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday night.
Nola.com | The Times- Picayune staff reporters Michelle Hunter and Emily Lane contributed to this story.
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