In one of the most significant insurance fraud prosecutions in recent Louisiana history, two attorneys have been convicted for orchestrating a years-long scheme that exploited staged automobile accidents to extract millions of dollars from insurance companies.
After more than two weeks of testimony and roughly five hours of deliberation, a federal jury found Jason Giles of the King Law Firm and Vanessa Motta of the Motta Law Firm guilty of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, and witness tampering. Their respective law firms were also found guilty. Both attorneys were ordered detained pending sentencing.
Federal prosecutors presented evidence that Giles and Motta paid so-called “slammers” to recruit individuals, pack their vehicles with passengers, and deliberately collide with unsuspecting 18-wheelers in pre-planned crashes. Following these staged accidents, the attorneys and their firms filed fraudulent lawsuits asserting fabricated injuries, seeking substantial settlements and judgments from insurers.
According to the government, the scheme dates back as early as 2011, when Giles and the King Law Firm allegedly began orchestrating the collisions, paying approximately $1,000 per passenger for accidents involving tractor-trailers. Motta, who was admitted to the Louisiana bar in May 2016, was accused of joining the conspiracy shortly after becoming licensed. The earliest allegation against her in the indictment stems from a lawsuit filed on September 29, 2016.
The trial began on March 2, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Jurors heard testimony from numerous witnesses, including MBLB’s own Gerard Dragna and Morgan Wells, who testified on behalf of the prosecution. On March 20, 2026, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts.
The convictions were the culmination of a years-long federal investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The probe—known as “Operation Sideswipe”—was launched after attorneys representing trucking companies noticed a troubling pattern: the same individuals appearing repeatedly in serious crashes, and consistently represented by the same law firms.
Investigators ultimately identified approximately 50 people as participants in the scheme, including attorneys, recruiters, slammers, and passengers. Some individuals, including attorneys, cooperated with authorities and were granted immunity.
The case also took a deadly turn. One slammer-turned-informant, Cornelius Garrison, was murdered on September 22, 2020, just days after being indicted for his role in the fraud. Two individuals—Sean Alfortish, a disbarred attorney and former fiancé of Motta, and Leon Parker—are scheduled to stand trial in August 2026 on charges of conspiracy to commit murder related to Garrison’s death. Ryan Harris pleaded guilty to the murder in January 2025.
This case serves as a stark example of how abuse of the legal system can endanger public safety, undermine trust in the profession, and exact a heavy toll—financially and otherwise—on innocent parties. With the guilty verdicts now in hand, sentencing proceedings will determine the final chapter for the attorneys at the center of this conspiracy.