After nearly three weeks of bombshell testimony in a wide-ranging staged wrecks trial, a jury has convicted two prominent New Orleans attorneys.
The jury found attorneys Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles guilty on all charges.
Motta was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, three counts of obstruction of justice, and four counts of witness tampering. Her firm is also convicted of those same charges.
She is set to be sentenced on Tuesday, July 7, at 9 a.m.
Giles was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, five counts of obstruction of justice, and six counts of witness tampering. His firm was also convicted of the same charges.
He is set to be sentenced on Tuesday, July 14, at 9.m.
Both Motta and Giles were detained.
Judge Wendy Vitter dismissed herself to her chambers to decide if Motta and Giles would be remanded in the courtroom prior to her decision.
Shortly after she was dismissed, Motta rushed to her daughter and mother to console them.
Motta’s mother then fainted, and chaos erupted in the courtroom. Security guards screamed for a medic.
Motta and her daughter were inconsolable. Motta could be heard screaming, “Mommy? Mommy!”
Motta’s mother came to and was given water and candy at the advice of a physician in the courtroom.
As family members tended to Motta’s mother, Motta then turned around and vomited.
Members of her defense team were seen giving her water.
Giles was also seen consoling his mother and son prior to Motta’s mother collapsing.
Vitter re-entered the courtroom and announced she would not clear the courtroom. Instead, she asked people to make way for the medic.
Vitter briefly returned to her chambers and reconvened the court to announce her decision to detain Motta and Giles.
Vitter said both were convicted of witness tampering and that a second trial in August would utilize some of the same witnesses.
In regard to Motta, she insinuated there was evidence that she knew her fiancé, Sean Alfortish, was conspiring to kill Garrison.
” I have no reason whatsoever to believe she is naive or under the influence of anyone else. In fact, I believe she knew what she was doing at all times,” Vitter said. “Further, I made a determination and ruling in this trial that Ms. Motta acquiesced in the death of a witness, Mr. Cornelius Garrison. There is evidence in the record that will come out during that trial as to her acquiescence.”
Vitter also said that the jury found “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Giles knew he was being investigated, specifically pointing to text messages that were shown during the trial.
“He, too, recorded conversations with people he knew to be witnesses against him. And the jury has found that was witness tampering,” Vitter said.
After Vitter ended court, Motta could be seen doubled over, crying on a table.
She turned around and mouthed “I love you” to her daughter, who was in her father’s arms being consoled.
At one point, Motta’s mother made a remark to Motta’s ex-husband that required a U.S. Marshal’s intervention.
At that point, the court was cleared before Motta or Giles were cuffed and taken into custody.
Outside court, U.S. Attorney Michael Simpson made a statement to reporters following Motta and Giles’ convictions.
Simpson said Motta and Giles “perpetrated a years-long fraud” scheme that they attempted to cover up, and thanked the jury for their decision.
“This case was the result of years of hard work, dedication, and cooperation between the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the criminal division of the US, DOJ, and the FBI,” Simpson said. “One thing I want to make eminently clear insurance fraud is not a victimless crime. It is a crime that destroys businesses, impacts lives, and disrupts our society.”
Simpson called this case an example of “the worst of the worst” lawyers.
Toomey was seen leaving court and voiced his disappointment, but said the work is not done.
“The case is not over, so I’m not obligated to talk about this case,” Toomey said.
Davis also said she was disappointed in the verdict, saying she believed Giles and believed media coverage may have influenced the outcome of the case.
“What the stagers and slammers were doing was horrible, and I think everyone in the city thought they were involved and needed to be punished,” Van Davis said. “But the jury made their decision, and I have to live with it.”
She also credited Giles’ profession as a trial lawyer as to why he was able to maintain his composure.
Insurance commissioner Tim Temple reacted to the verdict, saying justice was served.
“This trial shows how systemic insurance fraud can be, involving all types of bad actors, from attorneys and medical providers to criminals willing to cause accidents on Louisiana roads. These schemes are not only dangerous—they also drive up the cost of insurance for all drivers.”
Closing arguments:
The federal government delivered sweeping closing arguments Thursday afternoon after testimony concluded, arguing the entire scheme was ultimately about greed and was a coordinated effort between attorneys, runners, and slammers.
“This is a case about greed,” said Ryan McLaren, prosecutor for the federal government. “You’ve seen evidence of the defendants’ greed over and over again.”
McLaren stressed that Motta and Giles knowingly participated in the scheme for years, staging accidents and recruiting people to participate and file fraudulent insurance claims.
“The slammers were the beating heart of this conspiracy,” McLaren said.
McLaren also emphasized that the scheme heavily depended on the attorneys, Motta and Giles, who were often lined up and ready before crashes even happened.
McLaren also outlined phone records and text messages, including coded language to discuss the scheme with the slammers.
Jurors were shown evidence of calls and texts between Giles and Labeaud around the time of the crashes. Prosecutors argued the volume and timing of those messages showed Giles’ knowledge of the scheme.
“What do you think they were talking about — the Saints? The weather?” McLaren asked the jurors.
McLaren also outlined Giles and Labeaud’s close relationship and said that Labeaud had no reason to hide the meaning of the messages.
McLaren told the jury that the financial records outlined in the trial showed fraud through checks and the thousands of dollars given to people who were involved in the scheme.
McLaren also spoke heavily about Motta’s alleged involvement, specifically outlining phone and location data showing Cornelius Garrison, a key slammer in the case, traveling to her office after crashes.
He also reiterated that Motta was accused of trying to pay Garrison to move out of the country to prevent his cooperation with the federal government’s investigation.
McLaren said Motta and her fiancé, Sean Alfortish, are “partners in romance and partners in crime.”
In closing, McLaren urged the jurors not to view Giles and Motta as unaware of the wide-ranging scheme.
“You do not need to presume that they are stupid people,” McLaren said. “They are not. Sometimes, people are just guilty.”
Rick Simmons, the attorney representing the King Firm, began his closing arguments by recognizing the burden the jury has to weigh each charge against the defendants.
Simmons said he agreed with the prosecution’s stance about the staged wrecks scheme, saying the case was about lying. But he stressed that the lying came from slammers.
Simmons said the slammers lied to attorneys, police, in their depositions, and to the FBI.
He claimed that the government did not prove the King Firm was part of the conspiracy.
“They can’t find one check between the King Firm and Mr. Garrison or Mr. Harris,” Simmons said. “They can’t find any phone records.”
He also stressed that the first crash in the scheme dated back to 2011, when the King Firm didn’t exist.
Simmons ended his closing argument telling jurors that when the King Firm heard there were concerns of fraud in cases, the firm withdrew and did its due diligence.
Sean Toomey, Vanessa Motta’s attorney, focused his closing argument on whether or not the federal government proved she had knowledge of the scheme.
He stressed that Motta did not know that the referrals she was getting from her fiancé, Sean Alfortish, were from staged accidents.
“She was a pawn of Sean Alfortish, and foolishly held onto what she thought were green flags,” Toomey said.
Toomey painted the picture of Alfortish being the true orchestrator in the scheme, saying the government focused too much on assumptions tied to her relationship with Alfortish.
“They jumped to the conclusion that because she was his girlfriend and a lawyer that she had to be involved,” Toomey said. “They were never open to the idea that she was misled.”
Toomey also outlined inconsistencies during testimony, specifically saying some witnesses evaded questioning on cross-examination or answered questions in ways that felt scripted.
He also said most of the government’s witnesses testified that slammers, Cornelius Garrison and Ryan Harris, staged the crashes, not Motta.
“They all said the same thing: it was Garrison, it was Harris who set it up,” Toomey said.
Toomey said Motta made bad decisions, but none with criminal intent.
“She made an incorrect judgment,” Toomey said. “That may make her inexperienced — even a bad lawyer — but it does not make her a criminal.”
Toomey told the jury that the government’s case against Motta was built on suspicion and not proof.
“Vanessa is not guilty,” Toomey said.
Jason Giles’ attorney, Lynda Van Davis, urged jurors to acquit him because the government did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he staged wrecks.
Davis pointed out that several people testified in the case to their involvement, but said none of those people credibly implicated Giles.
“The people that did this have been punished, and they should have been,” Davis said. “But that doesn’t mean my client is guilty.”
She pointed to testimony from Carl Morgan, who admitted his own involvement in a staged accident but told jurors he did not inform Giles that the case was fraudulent.
Davis argued that Morgan, despite having a plea agreement, did not attempt to reduce his sentence by falsely implicating Giles.
She also challenged the credibility of slammer Ryan Harris.
While Harris testified that members of his family were involved in staged accidents, Davis pointed out that he never knew if Giles had knowledge of the fraudulent cases. She emphasized that Harris’ only connection to Giles’ law firm was being in the parking lot.
Davis insisted there was a lack of concrete evidence in the case.
“Where is the proof?” Davis asked. “No phone records, no payments, no location data.”
Davis told jurors there was a distinction between Giles’ firm and Vanessa Motta’s firm, arguing that any fraudulent activity happened there.
“The things that happened at the Motta firm did not happen at the King firm,” Davis said.
Davis also questioned the credibility of a key prosecution witness, Damian Labeaud.
She called him a liar and questioned claims that he made large sums of cash through staged accidents. Davis argued there wasn’t enough financial evidence to support those claims.
Throughout her argument, Davis maintained that Giles was simply doing his job as a trial lawyer, relying on his clients’ statements.
“If someone comes in and tells you they’ve been injured, a lawyer has to evaluate that case,” Davis said. “That does not mean they are part of a fraudulent scheme.”
Davis ended her testimony stressing to jurors that the government did not prove Giles committed mail fraud, obstruction of justice, or witness tampering.
“The government missed the mark by a long shot,” Davis said. “Don’t send my client to jail because other people came into his office and lied.”
Judge Wendy Vitter gave the jury their instructions, and jurors are expected to begin deliberations Friday morning.
Toomey and Van Davis were spotted outside of court after Vitter dismissed for the day, and both gave short statements reiterating that the case is now up to a jury.
Trial testimony:
The trial centered on allegations that several attorneys were involved in a large-scale staged car crash scheme designed to defraud insurance companies.
Rick Simmons, representing The King Firm, argued that the firm’s cases came through legitimate advertising and reputation, and that the people accused of staging crashes operated on their own.
Lynda Van Davis, representing Jason Giles, stressed there was no evidence linking Giles to a conspiracy, specifically saying the indictment did not include lawyers as participants in the alleged scheme and urged jurors to “follow the money.”
Sean Toomey, representing Vanessa Motta, portrayed her as an inexperienced lawyer misled by her fiancé, Sean Alfortish. He argued that Motta believed referrals on the car wreck cases were legitimate and was unaware that Alfortish allegedly paid people to stage them.
Toomey characterized her actions as naïve rather than criminal.
Prosecutors, however, presented a starkly different narrative, describing the case as a greed-driven fraud operation.
Federal prosecutor Brian Klebba alleged that attorneys Motta and Giles knowingly participated in staging crashes involving 18-wheelers to secure large insurance settlements, paying runners and slammers, and generating millions in fraudulent payouts.
A major witness for the federal government, former attorney Danny Keating, testified that he actively participated in the scheme between 2017 and 2020.
He admitted to helping stage over 100 crashes, filing fraudulent lawsuits, and handling cash payments to participants.
Keating described the coded language used by the group and detailed how money was distributed, sometimes wrapped in newspaper.
Another key witness for the government, Damiean Labeaud, testified that he worked as a “runner” for years and claimed Giles paid him thousands weekly to organize staged crashes.
He described recruiting participants, coordinating accidents, and directing clients to specific doctors.
Defense attorneys challenged his credibility, suggesting he was shifting blame to reduce his own sentence in the case.
Ryan Harris, a “slammer,” testified that he staged more than 80 crashes tied primarily to Motta and Alfortish.
He claimed Motta was directly involved, instructing participants, advising on making crashes appear convincing, and even suggesting ways to increase damage for insurance payouts.
Defense attorneys questioned inconsistencies in his statements and whether Motta knew about the scheme.
Finally, FBI Special Agent Matthew Smith testified about his investigation, which began in 2019 after suspicious crash patterns were reported by law firms representing 18-wheeler companies.
He played recorded calls in court and outlined statements from key figures, including Cornelius Garrison, a key federal witness who was murdered before trial.
While prosecutors argued the evidence showed a coordinated scheme, Toomey, Simmons, and Van Davis continued to point to what they called inconsistencies in witness statements as well as gaps in evidence linking Motta and Giles to the scheme.
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 the 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 Toomey and Giles by 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 homicide of a federal witness, Garrison, who was killed in 2020 after agreeing to cooperate with the investigation.
Two men, Alfortish, Motta’s fiancé, and 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:After weeks of testimony, jury convicts two New Orleans attorneys in staged wrecks scheme
