Federal prosecutors have brought to light the indictment of multiple individuals and law firms in New Orleans, unveiling a web of alleged staged car accident scams.
Newly indicted are Ryan “Red” Harris, Sean Alfortish, Vanessa Motta, Jason Giles, Leon “Chunky” Parker, Diaminike Stalbert, Carl Morgan, Timara Lawrence, and the local law practices Motta Law, LLC and The King Firm, LLC.
Attorneys arrested for orchestrating car accident scams
Motta and Giles, both lawyers based in New Orleans, are accused of being central players in the scheme. Alfortish, who is engaged to Motta, is reportedly disbarred.
The charges stem from a broader conspiracy dating back to 2011, where staged car crashes were allegedly used to file sham lawsuits and insurance claims.
But this is not just any fraud case—the details are chilling, involving everything from fabricated collisions to murder.
It all began unraveling in May when Harris and his girlfriend Jovanna Gardner were charged with first-degree murder of a federal cooperator.
According to prosecutors, the victim, Cornelius Garrison, was allegedly killed for cooperating with authorities after the fraud was exposed.
Others involved in the scheme, like Damian Labeaud—a convicted “slammer” specializing in deliberately crashing into vehicles—have already entered guilty pleas and are assisting investigators.
Prosecutors, initially tight-lipped regarding the implicated attorneys and firms, have now laid it bare with this unsealed indictment.
The fraudulent setup, according to the complaint, involved meticulously staged car accidents targeting commercial vehicles, especially 18-wheelers.
“Slammers,” or drivers tasked with causing accidents, would intentionally crash vehicles, flee the scene, and leave a staged passenger to pose as the driver.
This passenger, often paired with fake witnesses called “spotters,” falsely reported the accidents to authorities and filed bogus claims.
DOJ officials revealed more layers of deception, stating, “The scheme included individuals who rode in automobiles as passengers knowing they would be part of staged collisions. Those individuals later lied as part of fraudulent insurance claims and fraudulent lawsuits.”
It didn’t stop with passengers—behind the scenes, so-called “runners” were allegedly paid to connect crash participants with the indicted law firms, further fueling the cycle of bogus litigation.
Scheme turns fatal after major player flips
Adding to the grim narrative, Garrison, who had roles as both a “slammer” and “spotter,” began working covertly with federal agents in late 2019.
DOJ investigators allege Harris and Gardner discovered his collaboration and fatally retaliated.
Garrison was indicted on related fraud charges in September 2020 and murdered just days later, his body discovered with multiple gunshot wounds.
Prosecutors claim both Harris and Gardner were behind his killing, with Harris allegedly confessing to Gardner.
Harris and Gardner face a slew of charges, including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to murder a witness, and retaliation through murder.
Gardner has reportedly cut a plea deal, admitting to witness tampering and stating Harris confessed the act to her.
Meanwhile, the other defendants named in this week’s unsealed indictment stand accused of conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud—a charge carrying a maximum 20-year prison sentence upon conviction.
Attorneys Motta and Giles, alongside Alfortish, also face additional charges of witness tampering and obstruction of justice, potentially adding decades to their sentences if found guilty.
The FBI went to Alfortish’s Lake Vista home on Monday to arrest him, but he was not at the residence.
He later turned himself in and was held without bond after pleading not guilty to fraud charges.
Lawyer claims innocence over alleged car accident scams
Meanwhile, Motta’s attorney, Sean Toomey, released a statement about his client’s alleged innocence.
“Vanessa Motta is completely innocent of any wrongdoing. The government’s theory — that a lawyer barely a year out of law school decided to participate in a sprawling conspiracy — is terribly mistaken,” he commented.
“If these accidents were in fact staged, my client was also a victim and taken advantage by others. Over the last five years Vanessa has been unjustly vilified in the press and so while we strongly believe this indictment is misguided, we are looking forward to the trial of this case where Vanessa will finally be vindicated.”
Investigators also unearthed that the scammers used code words, including fishing terminology, to disguise their illicit conversations.
The Justice Department’s Monday statement highlighted how deeply co-conspirators were embedded in this racket, painting a picture of a multi-tiered operation involving everyone from crash drivers to lawyers.
