A key federal witness has taken the stand in a wide-ranging staged wrecks trial.
Danny Keating, an attorney who pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme and worked with the King Firm, took the stand for the second day of the trial.
Keating is considered a key witness for the federal government.
Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles are set to stand trial for three weeks and are both accused of staging car crashes to fraudulently collect insurance money.
Motta, a former stuntwoman turned plaintiff’s lawyer, and Giles, a principal at the King Firm, are charged with wire fraud, mail fraud, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
Jury selection was held over the course of two days. A total of 12 jurors were selected, as well as six alternates.
Judge Wendy Vitter read the full indictment to jurors ahead of opening statements, and is allowing them to take notes.
Danny Keating testifies:
Danny Keating took the stand in the staged wrecks trial Thursday afternoon, immediately admitted to his role in the scheme.
Keating was a lawyer who owned his own firm. He pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme but has not been sentenced.
Keating said his involvement with the scheme began in April 2017 and ended in 2020.
He said he was introduced to Damien Labeaud, a slammer, by Jason Giles.
Labeaud and Giles met with Keating on the Westbank where the scheme was explained to him, according to Keating.
According to Keating, Labeaud told him he’d make “the Womack firm big” and also said he “made the King Firm big.”
According to Keating, at the time he was going through a bad divorce and custody issues, and was short on cash. He said this is why he became involved.
Keating testified that he knew Giles since 2015, and said some of the staged wrecks cases he was a part of came from Giles’ office.
Communications surrounding the wrecks happened mostly with in-person meetings, phone calls, and text messages.
According to Keating, he kept $100,000 to $150,000 in cash at his home for payments, and admitted to having involvement in at least 120 wrecks.
Sometimes payments were made in checks labeled “client advance” or “advertising,” as well as cashier’s checks.
Keating said he spoke in code with Labeaud and Giles over text messages.
According to Keating, these code words were used in texts before accidents were staged.
After the wrecks, payments were mostly made in cash obtained from Chase Bank.
Keating testified that he would wrap payments in a newspaper that he’d toss into Labeaud’s truck while he said, “Did you read the paper today?”
Keating said at one point Giles’ mother would give out payments, including one instance where she gave the payment to the wrong person.
Keating admitted on the stand not only to knowing the accidents were staged, but also paying for staged wrecks, filing fraudulent lawsuits, and violating his oath.
Attorney, Sean Alfortish’s CPA testify:
Testimony resumed Thursday in the trial with a defense attorney raising concerns about the staged wrecks scheme
Andrea Albert showed a document to the jury highlighting discrepancies she had noted while working her cases connected to the scheme, such as a police report showing no injuries at the scene despite significant bodily injury claims being pursued, and all vehicle occupants retaining counsel before treatment.
Sean Alfortish’s tax preparer also took the stand.
Alfortish is the fiancé of Vanessa Motta, one of the attorneys on trial.
Tax documents prepared by Alfortish’s trust in 2017 showed payments totaling $119,000 to Cornelius Garrison through professional fees.
Garrison was a federal witness and slammer who was murdered in 2020 after reportedly agreeing to cooperate with the investigation.
Prosecutors questioned the CPA about her knowledge of Garrison’s activities at the time.
“No, I never did know,” she said.
About the scheme:
The scheme has drawn significant attention from the legal community due to the state’s high auto insurance rates.
The federal investigation was launched months after WDSU Investigates broke the story in October 2018, following reports from lawyers for trucking companies about repeated involvement of the same individuals and law firms in multiple crashes, notably the Motta Firm and the King Law Firm.
The investigation led to changes in state laws to better protect truck drivers, who are required to carry $1 million in liability insurance.
More than 50 individuals have pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme after admitting to driving into tractor trailers to stage wrecks.
In 2020, U.S. Attorney Peter Strasser described the scheme as “outrageous.”
Attorney Danny Keating, who pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing, reportedly collected over $1 million by handling 77 fraudulent cases.
Keating is expected to testify at the trial, along with other lawyers who have received transactional immunity for their cooperation.
Motta and Giles have pleaded not guilty, with Motta represented by former federal prosecutor Sean Toomey and Giles by former Judge Lynda Van Davis.
The trial, presided over by Judge Wendy Vitter, a Donald Trump appointee, is expected to last four to five weeks.
A significant aspect of the case involves the killing of a federal witness, Cornelius Garrison, who was killed in 2020 after agreeing to cooperate with the investigation.
Two men, Sean Alfortish, Motta’s fiance, and Leon Parker, are charged in the killing, with their trial set for August.
Motta and Giles are not charged in connection with the killing, and the judge has separated those charges to be tried later.
The jury will focus solely on whether the wrecks were staged and if Motta and Giles played key roles in the scheme.
READ MORE:Key federal witness takes the stand in New Orleans staged wrecks trial
