New Orleans Lawyers Guilty of Truck Collision Fraud

In New Orleans, a federal jury found personal injury attorneys Jason Giles and Vanessa Motta guilty of fraud, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering. Their law firms also faced convictions for their involvement in a scheme to stage collisions with tractor-trailers. Prosecutors alleged the lawyers paid individuals, known as "slammers," to intentionally crash into trucks. The goal was to file lawsuits and secure larger settlement payouts from trucking companies and insurers. This type of accident fraud in Louisiana has reportedly added at least $600 annually to car insurance costs for drivers in the state.

This conviction is a result of Operation Sideswipe, an investigation that has led to over 50 convictions, primarily involving participants who admitted to causing staged crashes for financial gain. Many of these incidents occurred on major thoroughfares like Interstate 10 in eastern New Orleans. The scheme's prevalence on these routes initially drew scrutiny from trucking companies' defense attorneys and insurers, who helped expose the fraudulent lawsuits. Sentencing for Giles and Motta is tentatively scheduled for July. A third defendant, Diaminike Stalbert, was convicted of making false statements but acquitted of conspiracy.