NEW ORLEANS, LA — A trial commenced Monday in federal court for two local lawyers and two associates, charged with orchestrating a complex insurance fraud scheme involving staged vehicle crashes with big rig trucks.
According to authorities, Vanessa Motta, Jason Giles, and the King Firm are accused of filling cars with passengers and colliding them into 18-wheelers to obtain inflated insurance payments. The prosecution claims that some passengers underwent unnecessary surgeries while the attorneys allegedly profited by paying kickbacks.
The investigation, which began in 2019, has resulted in about 50 guilty pleas related to the scheme. Witness accounts indicated that coordinated efforts spanned multiple locations, with participants known as “slammers” recruited to facilitate the staged wrecks.
Central to the case is Cornelius Garrison, a key witness who claimed to have participated in over 50 crashes. He was killed in 2020, just days after being indicted, prompting speculation about the potential implications of his testimony. Garrison allegedly revealed that he was offered a significant sum to take the blame for the operation.
Motta, who claims to be a victim, is facing charges for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, among others. Giles faces similar charges. The trial is anticipated to last three weeks as prosecutors seek to establish the depth of the defendants' involvement in the fraud.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Payne, Brian Klebba, and their team are leading the prosecution in this case, which has drawn considerable attention due to its scale and severity.