Two New Orleans injury lawyers convicted in a 13-year staged crash ring
A federal jury in New Orleans convicted personal injury attorneys Vanessa Motta and Jason F. Giles on March 20, 2026, finding both guilty on every count tied to a staged-collision ring, "Operation Sideswipe," that prosecutors say paid "slammers" to crash cars into 18-wheelers from December 2011 to December 2024. The wider investigation charged 63 people; a cooperating witness was murdered in 2020 after agreeing to testify.
- Year
- 2026
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Convicted
- Reported loss
- $10.0 million
- Victims
- Not stated in the sources
- Schemes
- Staged accident insurance fraud
- Last reviewed
- 2026-10-08
The facts, as recorded
- Vanessa Motta, 44, of New Orleans, a former Hollywood stuntwoman turned personal injury attorney and owner of Motta Law LLC, and Jason F. Giles, 47, of New Orleans, an attorney at The King Firm LLC, were convicted of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, obstruction of justice and witness tampering, guilty on every count against them.
- A third defendant, Diamanike Stalbert, was acquitted of conspiracy but convicted of making false statements to federal agents.
- The jury reached its verdict after a three-week trial before Chief US District Judge Wendy B. Vitter, following roughly six hours of deliberation; the defense called no witnesses.
- Prosecutors said 'slammers' deliberately collided cars with commercial trucks on New Orleans-area highways, while 'spotters' acted as getaway drivers and false witnesses blaming the truck drivers; Motta and Giles then filed the resulting fraudulent insurance claims and lawsuits.
- The scheme ran from at least December 2011 to December 2024. The wider federal investigation, Operation Sideswipe, charged 63 people in total, and more than 40 had already pleaded guilty before Motta and Giles went to trial.
- Judge Vitter ordered both Motta and Giles remanded to federal custody immediately after the verdict rather than released on bond pending sentencing.
- A cooperating witness, Cornelius Garrison, who had participated as a 'slammer' before agreeing to testify, was murdered in September 2020; a separate defendant was charged in his killing, and Motta's fiance, a disbarred attorney also linked to the ring, was separately charged with murder in the case.
- First Assistant US Attorney Michael M. Simpson said Motta, Motta Law, Giles and The King Firm "successfully launched a fraudulent scheme of epic proportions that both victimized the judicial system."
- Motta and Giles filed post-trial appeals and motions for a new trial in the weeks after the verdict; sentencing, originally set for July 2026, had not been finalised in the sources available as of this page's last review.
Why this case matters
This is the largest and most organised version of staged accident fraud documented on this page: not a lone driver or a small circle of friends, but a network built around two licensed attorneys who, prosecutors say, knowingly built a law practice on cases they knew were fraudulent from the moment of impact. It is also the most violent case on this page. A cooperating witness was murdered after agreeing to testify, and a second defendant was separately charged with killing him.
The scale of Operation Sideswipe
The federal investigation behind this prosecution, Operation Sideswipe, charged 63 people over a scheme prosecutors say ran from December 2011 to December 2024, specifically targeting collisions with 18-wheelers for their deeper commercial insurance limits. More than 40 defendants had already pleaded guilty before Motta and Giles went to trial as two of the investigation’s highest-profile holdouts.
A verdict, not yet a sentence
The jury found Motta, Motta Law, Giles and The King Firm guilty on every count after a three-week trial and roughly six hours of deliberation. Judge Wendy B. Vitter ordered both defendants held in federal custody immediately, rather than released on bond, pending sentencing. First Assistant US Attorney Michael M. Simpson called it a scheme “of epic proportions that both victimized the judicial system.” Sentencing was originally scheduled for July 2026; both defendants filed post-trial motions seeking a new trial or acquittal in the weeks that followed, and the final sentences imposed were not confirmed in the sources available as of this page’s last review.
The murder of a cooperating witness
Cornelius Garrison, who had ridden as a paid “slammer” before agreeing to cooperate with federal investigators, was shot and killed in September 2020. A separate defendant in the wider investigation was charged in connection with his death, and Motta’s own fiance, a disbarred attorney also tied to the ring, was separately charged with murder in the case. Neither murder charge is resolved by, or part of, Motta and Giles’s own fraud conviction.
The caveat
Motta, Giles and their firms were convicted by a jury on every count against them, a verdict, not an appeal’s final word: both defendants filed post-trial motions for a new trial or acquittal, and their final sentences had not been reported in the sources available when this page was last reviewed. The murder charges against other defendants in the wider investigation are separate, unresolved prosecutions; those individuals are presumed innocent of the killing unless and until a court finds otherwise.
People named in the public record
- Vanessa Motta · convicted
Sources
- UPDATE: Two attorneys convicted, jailed in Louisiana staged accident scam. FreightWaves. Accessed 2026-10-08. Supports: The March 20, 2026 verdict, the specific counts each defendant was convicted of, Stalbert's acquittal on conspiracy, the trial length and deliberation time, and the custody remand.
- Federal indictment unsealed implicating New Orleans attorneys, law firms in fake crash scheme. Fox 8 Live (WVUE New Orleans). Accessed 2026-10-08. Supports: The December 2011 scheme start date, the 'slammer' and 'spotter' roles, and the September 2020 murder of cooperating witness Cornelius Garrison.
- Federal trial jury convicts New Orleans personal injury attorneys in staged collision scheme. Metropolitan Crime Commission (New Orleans). Accessed 2026-10-08. Supports: The defendants' ages, the exact counts of conviction, the July 2026 sentencing dates, and the Michael M. Simpson quote.
- Personal injury attorneys convicted in staged accident case. Mondaq. Accessed 2026-10-08. Supports: The approximately $10 million alleged fraud estimate used for federal sentencing guideline purposes and commentary on potential sentencing exposure.
- How much jail time for the Louisiana staged truck accident attorneys?. FreightWaves. Accessed 2026-10-08. Supports: The scheduled July 7 and July 14, 2026 sentencing dates, legal analysts' sentencing estimates, and Judge Vitter's decision to remand both defendants into custody rather than release on bond.
- Cases still pending after New Orleans attorneys Giles, Motta convicted in staged wreck fraud scheme. Fox 8 Live (WVUE New Orleans). Accessed 2026-10-08. Supports: The status of other personal injury cases tied to the firms, the December 2024 law license suspensions, and legal analyst commentary on sentencing exposure.
- 63 people charged in 'Operation Sideswipe' staged-crash fraud probe. ABA Journal. Accessed 2026-10-08. Supports: The total number of people charged across the wider Operation Sideswipe investigation and the attorneys' guilty verdicts.