A pair of New Orleans attorneys appeared in federal court Monday to be arraigned for their alleged roles in a scheme to stage vehicle crashes into 18-wheelers for big insurance paydays.
Vanessa Motta
Stuntwoman-turned-lawyer Vanessa Motta dabbed her eyes during her arraignment, while attorney Jason Giles also pleaded not guilty to a blockbuster Dec. 6 indictment. U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Wells Roby granted Motta’s release on a $25,000 unsecured bond pending trial, and Giles’ on a $100,000 bond.
According to the feds, Motta and Giles each represented plaintiffs in bogus crashes. Giles, Motta and Motta's fiance, disbarred attorney Sean Alfortish, are among seven new defendants accused of an alleged fraud conspiracy, along with obstructing justice and witness tampering.
File photo of Sean Alfortish
They joined Ryan "Red" Harris, an alleged "slammer" who stands accused of killing a former partner in crime, Cornelius Garrison, to shut him up.
Garrison had allegedly worked for years with Giles, Motta and Alfortish on bogus crashes, but he was cooperating with the feds before he was shot dead in September 2020.
Prosecutors claim that Harris committed the hit. A co-defendant, Jovanna Gardner, pleaded guilty in June. She admitted she was in a romantic relationship with Harris and claimed he told her he'd killed Garrison and would kill her if she told anyone.
Ex-New Orleans attorney Danny Patrick Keating, left, leaves the federal courthouse in New Orleans on Thursday with his attorney, Brian Capitelli, after Keating, 52, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge, admitting he helped stage vehicle crashes into big rigs for the insurance proceeds.
Garrison's murder was viewed as a major stumbling block to a long-running federal probe dubbed "Operation Sideswipe." Until last month, it had resulted in charges against more than 50 people, but only one attorney: Danny Keating Jr., who still awaits sentencing.
The indictment against Motta, Giles and Alfortish also names others: Leon “Chunky” Parker, Diaminke Stalbert, Carl Morgan and Timara Lawrence. Federal prosecutors say each of them participated in crashes or helped set them up.
So far, only Parker and Alfortish are being held in jail. Alfortish, 57, awaits a detention hearing on Wednesday. Prosecutors want him to remain locked up pending trial, claiming he was "engaged in a months-long scheme to silence Garrison," through offers to pay him off or move him to the Bahamas.
Only Harris faces charges directly related to Garrison's killing.
Motta’s attorney, Sean Toomey, has said she is “completely innocent of any wrongdoing.” Giles’ attorney, David Courcelle, declined to comment after Monday's arraignment. Shaun Clarke, Alfortish's attorney, has described his client as "downright eager" for his day in court.
Roby ordered Giles and Motta to surrender their passports and remain in the 13-parish Eastern District of Louisiana barring court approval to travel elsewhere. The judge also ordered Motta not to discuss the case with Alfortish, with whom she shares an 11-month-old child.
The Louisiana Supreme Court last month temporarily suspended the law licenses of Giles and Motta. Attorneys also pleaded not guilty Monday for their respective law firms, Motta Law and The King Firm, which also were charged.
U.S. District Judge Wendy Vitter has set a March 17 trial date.
