UPDATE: United States Attorney announces indictment of “Attorney A” in New Orleans-area staged accident scheme.
Attorney Danny Patrick Keating, Jr. Charged
New Orleans attorney Danny Patrick Keating, Jr. – who was identified, until recently, as “Attorney A” in federal court documents – is the first attorney indicted in the New Orleans-area insurance fraud scheme involving staged motor vehicle accidents with 18-wheelers. Keating has been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud.
There are now charges pending against 33 defendants who allegedly participated in staging accidents in Gentilly and New Orleans East; eleven defendants have pleaded guilty.
While the Keating indictment spotlights five wrecks with tractor-trailers in 2017 where Keating and his clients received approximately $1.5 million in settlement monies, Keating allegedly paid “slammer” Damian Labeaud to stage 31 accidents while representing 77 plaintiffs in cases that involved staged accidents. Court documents allege that Keating and Lebeaud’s relationship began in 2017.
Other New Orleans-area Attorneys Currently Under Federal Investigation
Keating is only one of several lawyers who allegedly worked with “slammers” like Labeaud to stage the accidents with 18-wheelers. These lawyers would then send their clients to the same doctors and surgeons and would advise their client to undergo maximum treatment, which included surgeries, in order to obtain high dollar settlement amounts. Keating is the only attorney with federal charges currently pending; however, there appears to be other, unidentified New Orleans-area attorneys who are currently under federal investigation for their presumed roles in staging motor vehicle accidents.
Keating’s Louisiana law license has been revoked, and his arraignment was set for November 30, 2020.
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