Two New Orleans law firms and eight individuals have been charged for their involvement in a wide-ranging conspiracy to stage vehicle accidents and commit insurance fraud in a new federal indictment unsealed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The indictment, which was unsealed on Dec. 9, accuses Motta Law LLC and the King Firm LLC with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, obstruction of justice and witness tampering in the federal investigation of staged accidents directed against 18-wheelers and other vehicles. The alleged conspiracy spans more than a decade, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and so far 63 defendants have been charged with crimes.
The Judicial Hellholes report released last week by the American Tort Reform Federation links fraudulent activities such as those described in the indictment with the high cost of auto insurance in Louisiana. The criminal charges point to a sophisticated operation involving the cooperation of multiple participants, including doctors and attorneys who secured monetary settlements from the faked accidents from the commercial carriers’ insurers, the report said.
The superseding indictment also charges Ryan J. Harris, 36, of New Orleans with “retaliation against a witness through murder” in the 2020 gangland-style execution of Cornelius Garrison, who became an informant.
Also charged in the latest indictment were Sean D. Alfortish, 57, of New Orleans, a former attorney who was disbarred in 2014; Vanessa Motta, 43, an attorney and owner of Motta Law; and attorney Jason Giles, 45, of New Orleans, who previously was associated with the King Firm. Another attorney, Danny Patrick Keating, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in 2021 as a result of the investigation.
“The members of the conspiracy intentionally staged automobile collisions in the New Orleans metropolitan area and submitted fraudulent insurance claims based on the staged collisions,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Louisiana said in a news release. “The members of the conspiracy filed fraudulent lawsuits in state and federal court based on the staged automobile collisions.”
Other individuals – Carl Morgan, 66, of New Orleans; Leon M. “Chunky” Parker, 51, of New Orleans, Diaminike F. Stalbert, 34, of Metairie; and Timara N. Lawrence, 34, of New Orleans – were also charged in the latest indictment for allegedly taking part in the staged-accident conspiracy.
“The scheme included individuals who rode in automobiles as passengers knowing they would be part of staged collisions,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported. “Those individuals later lied as part of fraudulent insurance claims and fraudulent lawsuits based on the staged collisions.”
In addition, the conspiracy involved people called “slammers” who drove cars purposefully into tractor trailers and other commercial vehicles in order to stage collisions, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
“... The scheme included individuals (“spotters”) who drove getaway cars that allowed the slammers to flee the scene after causing a collision and evade detection by law enforcement,” the news release states. “The spotters would sometimes also pretend to be eyewitnesses and would flag down the commercial vehicles after the staged collisions, alleging that the commercial vehicles were at fault.”
The indictment alleges that the defendants charged in the investigation, dubbed “Operation Sideswipe,” carried out 22 staged collisions.
The Louisiana State Bar Association did not respond to a query about whether the association is also investigating attorney Giles, who is listed on the association’s website as still eligible to practice law in the state. The U.S. Attorney's Office also declined further comment about the case.