UPDATE: Two attorneys convicted, jailed in Louisiana staged accident scam

Freight Waves ^ | March 20, 2026 | John Kingston

[xxqqzz]

Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles were found guilty Friday of numerous charges related to the Louisiana staged accident scam, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

According to news reports from local Louisiana media, the jury deliberated about six hours Friday after closing arguments wrapped up at the end of the day Thursday. The case was heard in the U.S. Eastern District of Louisiana.

The news reports also said the pair were remanded to federal custody after the verdicts were read. Local news reporting painted a picture of post-verdict chaos. ... The Motta/Giles trial was the only one so far in the scam. Every other indictment is either unresolved (a dwindling number) or is one of more than four dozen guilty pleas.

The U.S. Attorney said the total number of individuals charged in Operation Sideswipe is 63.

Their co-conspirator Daiminike Stalbert, was acquitted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. However, he was found guilty of making false statements to federal agents.

According to a statement issued by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Motta will be sentenced July 7, Giles and The King Firm a week later and Stalbert a week after that.

Mail fraud, mail and wire fraud conspiracy and witness tampering each are subject to imprisonment of up to 20 years. Obstruction of justice carries a penalty of 10 years. There are also significant financial penalties that can be issued by the court, including restitution.

The trial lasted approximately three weeks including jury selection.

Following a parade of witnesses called by federal prosecutors, the defense for the indicted attorneys called no witnesses.

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TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; US: Louisiana
KEYWORDS: crime; fraud; louisiana; scam

[xxqqzz]

Apparently, they weren't content with cases coming to them from billboards. They would have cars hit semis because trucks have high limit of liability insurance policies. The lawyers were sent to federal prison between conviction and sentencing. They presumably will be disbarred, which is maybe one reason they pleaded not guilty. The defense called no witnesses. Not sure how they expected to win. There like 40 who pled guilty related to this investigation and 10 or 15 awaiting trial.

[throwthebumsout]

Slippin’ Jimmy!

[Bigg Red]

Scum

[mikey_hates_everything]

I’ve noticed recent Morgan & Morgan commercials focusing on semi-truck and Uber/Lyft involved injuries. Guess that’s where the money is now.

[dfwgator]

Louisiana - Half under water, half under indictment.

[Some Fat Guy in L.A.]

A good start.

[ConservativeMind]

All sound like good organ donors.

[VanShuyten]

Put $20 to this site.

[xxqqzz]

High limits of liability or high assets. Uber/Lyft have huge assets for big settlements. Similarly an Amazon truck or old time Coca Cola truck. If you get hit by some black person with a minimum insurance policy and no assets, you can’t get much.

[Republican Wildcat]

for the people...dot com

[mythenjoseph]

Been a long time in coming! These murdering thieves are but a fraction of the persons involved in this brutal manner of making money. They would pay cash and usually use illegals or low income(IQ) persons to get hit by big rigs. So everyone gets paid and the real people who eat this are people who just want to be on the roads so as to exist and that means paying auto insurance. I reside in Louisiana North of the cesspool known as Nuw AWleens.