I-TEAM: Explosive audit implicates BR Councilwoman’s husband, family; wrongdoing denied

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - An explosive audit released Monday by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor raises questions about whether laws were broken in connection with contracts for orphan wells — abandoned oil and gas wells with no financially responsible operator — through the state’s Office of Conservation.

Those implicated in the audit have denied all wrongdoing, according to responses included in the audit report.

The Office of Conservation regulates oil and gas resources in Louisiana.

Auditors found the Office of Conservation entered into a cooperative endeavor agreement — a contract between a state agency and a private entity to achieve a specific purpose — with the Louisiana Oilfield Restoration Association, known as LORA, to provide financial security for oil well operators in 2019.

The report says the agreement was brokered through then-Assistant Commissioner Johnny Adams.

Auditors allege Adams assisted three personal associates by organizing the agreement between LORA and the Office of Conservation.

Adams and his family then benefitted from the agreement by taking out low-interest loans totaling more than $1 million through LORA, according to the audit.

Emails obtained by investigators revealed what appeared to be intent to deceive, auditors found.

“The books of the LLC will be ours, so we can run it how we see fit, no questions asked,” stated one email referenced in the audit.

The audit found that Adams and his wife, Baton Rouge Metro Councilwoman Laurie Adams, received a $780,000 loan to buy a Baton Rouge home funded through LORA’s reserve accounts — funds set aside to cover the costs of plugging and restoring abandoned wells.

According to the audit, the loan rate was 2.6%, compared to the going market rate of 6.45% in 2023.

Auditors also noted the mortgage did not appear in the mortgage records of the East Baton Rouge Clerk of Court. That lack of documentation deviates from standard practice for loans through traditional banks.

When reached by phone, Laurie Adams told the WAFB I-Team her family did nothing wrong.

“The information is cherry picked and the timelines are collapsed and don’t tell the full story,” Adams said. “I thought legislative auditors had to tell the whole story and they did not in this case. There are documents that they did not include in this report.”

When asked whether she knew about the loans, she acknowledged signing a document but said she was limited in what she could say and could not comment further. She did not provide the WAFB I-Team with the documents she said were omitted from the audit.

Auditors also found that Adams’ adult daughter received a $139,000 loan to purchase a Baton Rouge condo funded through the same LORA reserve accounts her father was overseeing.

The audit further found that Johnny Adams was the primary state contact overseeing the LORA contract. At the same time, both of his adult children were employed by LORA-funded entities.

That could be a potential violation of Louisiana ethics laws, according to auditors.

Adams’ attorney, Steven Moore, vehemently denied any wrongdoing on behalf of his client and said the report contains “misstated facts, unfounded, misleading and inaccurate conclusions.”

“This report excluded evidence contrary to the inaccurate narrative that Mr. Adams and the LORA program were improperly operated outside a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement,” Moore said.

Moore also noted auditors combed through 10,000 of Adams’ personal emails dating to 2011, and that “all loans issued were paid in full, with interest, in accordance with their terms.”

In August 2025, the Louisiana Department of Justice filed a 32-page lawsuit against LORA, at least three companies, and several individuals, including Johnny Adams. The suit sought restitution of disputed funds and a full accounting of the agency’s finances.

The I-Team reached out to District Attorney Hillar Moore. The district attorney said the Louisiana attorney general’s office is handling the matter.

The Louisiana attorney general’s office issued a statement about the matter late Monday afternoon.

“We previously filed a civil action against a lengthy group of actors arising from activities related to LORA to preserve funds that were at risk. We will be further reviewing the case for criminal charges that may be appropriate as well. Because this is a matter under investigation we have no further comment,” wrote Attorney General Liz Murrill.

Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack said his office provided prosecutors with copies of the audit.

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