Opening statements began Wednesday in a wide-ranging staged wrecks murder trial in New Orleans.
Disbarred attorney Sean Alfortish and Leon Parker are facing charges related to the 2020 murder of federal witness Cornelius Garrison in the staged wrecks investigation.
Lawyer for federal witness killed testifies:
Claude Kelly, Garrison’s lawyer, took the stand as the federal government’s first witness.
Kelly testified that Garrison was a slammer in the staged wrecks scheme, and described how he would put people in cars and later disappear from the scene after the crash.
“He would cause the accident,” Kelly said. “Passengers would slide over. He was cool as a cucumber, walking out on the middle of Interstate 10, get in a car, and leave.”
Kelly said Garrison would bring passengers to the attorney’s offices so they could sue, and he would get paid per hit.
“He was frustrated with them regarding payments,” said Kelly.
Kelly said Garrison moved to working with Alfortish because he got paid faster.
“It was business,” said Garrison. “He got paid quickly.”
According to Kelly, Garrison showed a stack of checks to law enforcement that questioned him. He said the checks were from Alfortish regarding construction.
“He thought Sean Alfortish was a lawyer still,” said Kelly.
According to Kelly, Garrison got a target letter in January 2020 and learned he was going to be deposed regarding an 18-wheeler accident he was involved in for Vanessa Motta.
According to Kelly, the deposition happened with his public defender and Alfortish was not there.
Kelly said Alfortish encouraged people involved in staged wrecks to get surgeries in order to get more money from insurance.
Kelly also testified that Alfortish’s fiancé’ Motta said in a meeting that the reaction to the wrecks was “not a big deal” and that other lawyers “were just jealous” of how many clients she had.
Kelly was then questioned by an additional attorney for Alfortish’s legal team, James Washington.
Washington asked Kelly if cooperating with the government can impact sentencing.
Kelly said yes, and that Garrison was being truthful while cooperating.
Washington also asked Kelly about Garrison’s work relationship with Motta.
“I think he had a soft spot for Motta. Alfortish was business, and he dealt with him more,” Kelly said.
Kelly said he never spoke with Alfortish, and was not sure if it was him who told Garrison to get a surgery.
Court ended Wednesday with the jury hearing the frantic 911 call made by Garrison’s mother reporting her son had been shot.
Sobs could be heard throughout the courtroom as the audio played.
Testimony will continue Thursday morning.
Sean Alfortish’s attorney’s opening statement:
Alfortish’s attorney, Shaun Clarke, told jurors Wednesday that cooperating witness Ryan Harris was the masterminded behind the killing of Cornelius Garrison, and is now implicating Alfortish in hopes of receiving a lighter sentence.
Clarke said in his opening statement that any financial records or communications between Harris and Parker do not prove he knowingly participated in staged crashes or paid to have Garrison killed.
“The records prove money moved,” Clarke said. “They don’t prove why money moved.”
Clarke told jurors that Harris devised the murder plan because he had staged accidents with Garrison and feared being exposed.
“Someone wanted him dead: Ryan Harris,” Clarke said. “Harris devised the plan.”
Clarke also outlined what he claimed were communications and the exchanging of money between Alfortish and Garrison, but emphasized those interactions did not prove he was part of the conspiracy.
He described Garrison as a “hustler” and claimed Alfortish sometimes gave him “hundreds of dollars to satisfy him.”
Clarke claimed that Harris and Garrison staged wrecks together, and that he had more of a motive than Alfortish in the killing.
According to Clarke, the government had gathered substantial evidence against Harris, which is why he redirected the FBI to Alfortish, describing him as an appealing target.
Clarke also pushed back on the government’s opening statement regarding Alfortish having a role in the scheme by referring clients to his fiance Motta’s law firm.
He stressed that their relationship was not a conspiracy, and said Alfortish was not involved in any of those decisions.
Clarke also touched on claims from the government that Alfortish asked an inmate he met in jail to provide a false testimony in the case.
According to Clarke, the inmate was deported and Alfortish never asked or paid for him to be deposed in the case.
“The missing links will remain, those missing links are reasonable doubt,” said Clarke. “Alfortish will be not guilty.”
Federal government’s opening statement:
The U.S. Attorney’s Office kicked off opening statements Wednesday, painting Alfortish and Parker as killers.
Federal prosecutors alleged Wednesday that Alfortish helped orchestrate the killing of Garrison after he agreed to cooperate with the FBI.
In opening statements, prosecutor Matt Payne described Garrison’s fatal shooting at his mother’s home as an “assassination” that was intended to derail the federal investigation into staged wrecks and warn others against cooperating.
Payne said Garrison’s last words were “Mama fell on the floor,” before dying from 10 gunshot wounds.
“They shot him at his mom’s house. They shot him 10 times,” Payne said. “That sends a message: Don’t cooperate.”
Garrison played a key role in the staged wreck scheme and was accused of staging over 50 wrecks in New Orleans as a slammer.
Payne told jurors that Garrison would sideswipe trucks and leave the scene while a passenger moved to the driver’s seat.
The passengers would be taken to attorneys, who filed lawsuits and sought insurance settlements, according to Payne.
“That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you get paid in an 18-wheeler scheme,” Payne said.
In one example shown to jurors, a crash generated an $837,000 payout, including about $300,000 in attorney fees. Another staged collision involved a bus carrying a Loyola volleyball team and produced a $650,000 settlement.
Garrison allegedly received $85,000 from that case and was unhappy with his share, according to Payne.
Prosecutors said Alfortish, who was disbarred in 2017, paid Garrison $136,000 that year. Jurors were shown a check issued to Garrison by Affiliated Management LLC.
Payne said Garrison allegedly brought recruited passengers to Alfortish’s Kenner law office.
Prosecutors said Vanessa Motta, Alfortish’s fiancée who was convicted in the scheme, filed fraudulent lawsuits connected to the crashes. Alfortish and Motta also have a child together.
Prosecutors allege that Alfortish asked a slammer in the scheme, Ryan Harris, whether he could kill Garrison. Jovanna Gardner, Harris’ girlfriend, later became involved in arranging a meeting, according to Payne.
Payne then outlined a timeline leading up to Garrison’s death.
According to Payne, Harris, who is Parker’s stepson, allegedly tried to buy a gun.
The day before the shooting, Parker allegedly drained his bank account and met Harris in a parking lot on Crowder Boulevard. Harris also bought a burner phone, Payne said.
On the day of the killing, a burner phone was allegedly detected outside Garrison’s home. Jurors were shown a message sent from a woman’s phone that read, “Imma text you when I’m outside.”
Payne said that is when Garrison was met with gunfire at about 8:30 p.m. and was shot 10 times.
Prosecutors then showed pictures of Garrison, his body and the crime scene.
“They wanted a message to be heard through the city,” Payne told jurors.
According to Payne, attorneys representing trucking companies and insurers began questioning the claims after discovering inconsistencies. In some cases, passengers who appeared to know one another allegedly had no actual relationship.
Phone records repeatedly showed Garrison’s number, and Alfortish was allegedly in contact with him before some of the crashes, according to Payne.
The FBI began investigating, and Garrison was questioned after his October 2019 arrest on an unrelated charge. Payne called that development a “game changer,” saying Garrison agreed to help investigators and secretly record meetings.
In one undercover recording made at Clearview Mall in December 2019, Alfortish allegedly told Garrison, “If anything happens to you, we take care of you.”
Prosecutors also said Garrison was offered $500,000 and a trip to the Bahamas.
By September 2020, Payne said, “the walls” were closing in and Motta had received a subpoena.
Alfortish allegedly instructed others to lie by claiming money paid to Garrison was payment for construction work.
Payne told jurors they would hear evidence about online searches allegedly made by Alfortish, including questions about how far back the FBI could obtain emails and how far back the government could seize money following a federal conviction.
According to Payne, the staged-crash scheme continued even after Garrison was killed. Parker allegedly took part in another staged accident, and Motta represented him in a case as late as December 2021.
After Alfortish was indicted and jailed, he allegedly offered an inmate money to provide false information about Harris.
Prosecutors referenced a letter involving an inmate in Honduras that stated, “The lawyer with you, I heard he got more. Tell the boy to send the bread.”
Alfortish faces charges involving fraud, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and homicide-related offenses, according to prosecutors.
Payne said jurors are expected to hear testimony from Harris, truck drivers, recruited passengers, Garrison’s attorney and lawyers who represented trucking companies and insurers.
Passengers are expected to describe how they were recruited and taken to the offices of Alfortish and Motta, according to Payne.
Payne told jurors that Garrison’s killing stopped the federal investigation “in its tracks,” but said investigators eventually uncovered the wider operation and the alleged effort to silence him.
Jury selection:
Jury selection concluded Tuesday night in a trial for two men accused of killing a federal witness in a staged wrecks probe.
On Tuesday, jury selection picked back up after the selection process began Monday.
Over 100 jurors have been interviewed.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said both men played key roles in the death of Garrison, who had worked with local lawyers to set up staged car accidents that led to false insurance claims and millions in payouts.
Garrison was shot and killed execution-style in front of his home in the Columbia Park neighborhood of Gentilly, just days after it became public that he had been charged in the scheme and was cooperating with the FBI.
The murder remained unsolved for years until 2025, when Alfortish and Parker were charged.
Federal investigators said Alfortish first tried to pay Garrison to leave the country, and when that failed, he devised a plan with Parker to kill Garrison.
In open court during past hearings, details emerged about meetings between Alfortish and Parker and money withdrawn from bank accounts. Prosecutors are expected to call numerous witnesses and present digital and forensic evidence during the trial.
Alfortish and Parker have pleaded not guilty.
This trial follows the convictions of lawyers Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles, who were found guilty of staging wrecks and filing false insurance claims. Motta, who is Alfortish’s fiancée, argued during her trial that she was an unsuspecting young lawyer manipulated by Alfortish.
The jury rejected her defense, and she is currently jailed awaiting sentencing, along with Giles.
The trial for Alfortish and Parker is expected to last two to three weeks.
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