Two New Orleans law firms charged with staging accidents for settlements
Assholes like this are why our car insurance premiums are so high. 
Two New Orleans law firms charged with staging accidents for settlements
Federal indictment, more than five years in the making, claims attorneys and firms collected millions of dollars
Michael Perlstein of WWL Louisiana in New Orleans
Mon 9 Dec 2024 16.37 EST
In a blockbuster federal indictment more than five years in the making, two New Orleans-based law firms and their attorneys who specialize in car accident claims have been charged with several others for their roles in staging wrecks, faking injuries and collecting millions of dollars in lawsuit settlements.
Among those indicted on Monday is a television stuntwoman-turned-attorney named Vanessa Motta, who in May had two clients criminally charged with helping orchestrate the 2020 shooting death of another client of hers. The slain client of Motta – who was indicted along with her namesake firm – had been cooperating in the federal investigation that produced Monday’s indictment.
Motta’s fiance, disbarred attorney Sean Alfortish who spent time in prison over unrelated fraud charges, was also included in the indictment for his alleged role in the conspiracy: paying the people who stage the accidents, known as “slammers”, to ram into 18-wheelers intentionally. As recently as 22 November, a horse Alfortish trains won a race at the New Orleans Fair Grounds racecourse.
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So far, 49 out of 52 defendants have pleaded guilty in the sprawling investigation codenamed Operation Sideswipe, mostly low-level participants who admitted packing into cars and participating in a scheme for a quick payoff. Some defendants have admitted not only faking their injuries but also going as far as getting major back and neck surgeries to increase their chances of a jackpot settlement.
more...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/09/new-orleans-law-firms-staging-accidents-settlements
= new reply since forum marked as read
Click link for page:
https://tinyurl.com/2ssv9dst
Looked at one of the articles in which she's mentioned, because of the crazy headline:
This article is more than 6 months old
New Orleans man and woman accused of killing witness in insurance scheme
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As WWL noted, Operation Sideswipe led to charges against 52 people, including 44 who pleaded guilty. Only one was an attorney, Danny Keating, who pleaded guilty in exchange for his cooperation.
A lawyer who conspicuously has managed to elude charges is one who represented Garrison. Vanessa Motta, who touts her previous work as an on-screen stuntwoman in local television commercials billing her as “a badass attorney”. She helped secure a $650,000 settlement in an accident that Garrison staged and for which he was paid a share of the money.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/sus-news/article/2024/may/08/new-orleans-murder-insurance-scheme-staged-truck-accidents
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In New Orleans, case of staged accidents, disbarred lawyer, stuntwoman attorney takes a dark turn
BY RAMON ANTONIO VARGAS | Staff writer Sep 24, 2020
5 min to read
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A complex federal case involving a New Orleans man who allegedly made a living by causing car wrecks, a stuntwoman-turned-lawyer who represented him and her fiancé — a disbarred lawyer and convicted felon — took a gothic turn this week when the accused accident stager was fatally shot ahead of his arraignment.
Cornelius Garrison, 54, was killed Tuesday night inside a Gentilly apartment, just four days after prosecutors accused him of causing more than 50 car crashes in exchange for $150,000. Garrison’s lawyer, federal public defender Claude Kelly, confirmed his client was the man shot dead in the 1500 block of Foy Street.
More:
https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/in-new-orleans-case-of-staged-accidents-disbarred-lawyer-stuntwoman-attorney-takes-a-dark-turn/article_e489aa3a-feb2-11ea-be7c-6f14f6de9f17.html
