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.
Others indicted include the King firm, a law office known for its splashy ad campaigns, as well as its staff attorney Jason Giles. Three other individuals were indicted for being involved in at least six of the accidents between them, as well as filing fraudulent lawsuits.
WWL Louisiana in 2019 was the first media outlet to name the King Firm and Motta as potential targets in the ambitious federal investigation.
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.
The case took a darker turn in the spring when a couple named Jovanna Gardner and Ryan Harris were indicted in the execution-style murder of a federal witness, Cornelius Garrison.
In that case, Gardner has since pleaded guilty to helping plot Garrison’s killing, which was carried out inside his apartment in New Orleans’ Gentilly neighborhood. She also acknowledged that Harris worked closely with Alfortish and Motta in accident lawsuits that the plaintiffs have since admitted were fraudulent – though documents pertaining to Gardner’s case refer to Alfortish and Motta as “co-conspirator B” and “attorney A”.
Garrison’s murder was widely seen as a blow to Operation Sideswipe. But after years of delays, the first hint that the feds were expanding to the next stage of indictments was when federal agents showed up early Monday at the home of Motta and Alfortish in New Orleans’ Lake Vista neighborhood.
A statement from the FBI’s New Orleans office confirmed it was conducting “court-authorized law enforcement activity” on Motta and Alfortish’s street. But the FBI declined further comment.
Previously, Danny Patrick Keating was the lone attorney indicted in the case and entered a guilty plea in exchange for his cooperation.
The apparent slow pace had drawn criticism from some quarters. But multiple delays in Keating’s long-awaited sentencing led to speculation that substantial developments were in store, including Monday’s indictment.
The vast majority of the high-risk accidents were staged on stretches of Interstate 10 and other major thoroughfares in the eastern part of New Orleans – one of the first red flags to draw intense scrutiny from defense attorneys for the trucking companies and insurers who first exposed the lawsuits as fraudulent.
Accident fraud’s prevalence in Louisiana is estimated to add at least $600 annually in car insurance costs for every driver in the state.
