Nine Charged in Staged Automobile Collision Scheme, Including Two Men Charged with the Murder of a Federal Witness

NEW ORLEANS –The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice announce that a thirteen-count second superseding indictment has been returned, April 25, 2025, by the grand jury in relation to the scheme to stage automobile collisions in the New Orleans area.  The indictment includes new allegations against two defendants for their participation in the homicide of a federal witness.

According to the second superseding indictment, SEAN D. ALFORTISH (“ALFORTISH”), age 57, of New Orleans, and LEON M. PARKER, a/k/a “Chunky,” (“PARKER”), age 51, of New Orleans, conspired to murder federal witness, Cornelius Garrison. Garrison had been a “slammer” in the scheme to stage automobile collisions, including by sideswiping 18-wheeler tractor-trailers and other commercial vehicles.  Garrison was cooperating with the FBI when he was murdered on September 22, 2020, at his mother’s home in New Orleans.  Ryan J. Harris, a former codefendant in this case, pleaded guilty in January 2025 to causing death through the use of firearm, for his role in Garrison’s homicide, along with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

In addition, the second superseding indictment charges ALFORTISH; PARKER; VANESSA MOTTA (“MOTTA”), age 43, of New Orleans; MOTTA LAW, LLC (“MOTTA LAW”), a law firm in New Orleans; JASON F. GILES (“GILES”), age 46, of New Orleans; THE KING FIRM, LLC (“THE KING FIRM”), a law firm in New Orleans; DIAMINIKE F. STALBERT (“STALBERT”), age 34, of Metairie; CARL MORGAN (“MORGAN”), age 66, of New Orleans; and TIMARA N. LAWRENCE (“LAWRENCE”), age 34, of New Orleans, with participating in the scheme to defraud insurance companies and commercial trucking companies through fraudulently staged automobile collisions.

The superseding indictment alleges that ALFORTISH, MOTTA, MOTTA LAW, GILES, THE KING FIRM, MORGAN, PARKER, STALBERT, LAWRENCE, Cornelius Garrison (“Garrison”), then attorney Danny Patrick Keating (“Keating”), Damian Labeaud (“Labeaud”), Roderick Hickman (“Hickman”), and others participated in a scheme in which they intentionally  staged automobile collisions with other vehicles in the New Orleans metropolitan area.  The scheme included individuals who rode in automobiles as passengers knowing they would be part of staged collisions.  Those individuals later lied as part of fraudulent insurance claims and fraudulent lawsuits based on the staged collisions.  Additionally, the scheme included individuals who drove automobiles and intentionally collided with 18-wheeler tractor-trailers and other commercial vehicles, to stage collisions (“slammers”).  After the staged collisions, the slammers would flee the scene, and a passenger would falsely claim to have been driving at the time of the collision.  Harris, Garrison, Labeaud, and Hickman were slammers, and they recruited and conspired with others to participate in staged collisions.  The scheme included individuals (“spotters”) who drove getaway cars that allowed the slammers to flee the scene after causing a collision and evade detection by law enforcement.  The spotters would sometimes also pretend to be eyewitnesses and would flag down the commercial vehicles after the staged collisions, alleging that the commercial vehicles were at fault. The scheme included individuals, including ALFORTISH, MOTTA, GILES, Keating, other attorneys, and others associated with the attorneys, who pursued fraudulent claims and fraudulent lawsuits knowing they were based on staged collisions.

Count One charges ALFORTISH, MOTTA, MOTTA LAW, GILES, THE KING FIRM, MORGAN, PARKER, STALBERT, and LAWRENCE with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1341, 1343, and 1349.  The maximum penalty for this count is up to twenty years imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain to any defendant or twice the gross loss to any victim.

Count Two charges GILES and THE KING FIRM with mail fraud, and Count Three charges ALFORTISH, MOTTA, MOTTA LAW, and PARKER with mail fraud, both in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341.  The maximum penalty for each of these counts is twenty years imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain to any defendant or twice the gross loss to any victim.

Count Four charges ALFORTISH, MOTTA, and MOTTA LAW with obstruction of justice, and Count Six charges GILES and THE KING FIRM with obstruction of justice, both in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1503(a).  The maximum penalty for each of these counts is ten years imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain to any defendant or twice the gross loss to any victim.

Count Five charges ALFORTISH, MOTTA, and MOTTA LAW with witness tampering, and Count Seven charges GILES and THE KING FIRM with witness tampering, both in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1512(b)(1)(B).  The maximum penalty for each of these counts is twenty years imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain to any defendant or twice the gross loss to any victim.

Count Eight charges STALBERT with making false statements to a federal agent.  If convicted, she would face up to five years of imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release.

Counts Nine through Thirteen concern the homicide of federal witness Cornelius Garrison. Count Nine charges ALFORTISH and PARKER with conspiracy to commit witness tampering through murder of Garrison, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1512(a)(1)(C), 1512(a)(3)(A), and 1512(k).  Count Ten charges ALFORTISH and PARKER with witness tampering through murder, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 11512(a)(1)(C), 1512(a)(3)(A), and 2.  Count Eleven charges ALFORTISH and PARKER with conspiracy to retaliate against a witness through murder, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1513(a)(1)(B), 1513(a)(2)(A), and 1513(f).  Count Twelve charges ALFORTISH and PARKER with retaliation against a witness through murder, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1513(a)(1)(B), 1513(a)(2)(A), and 2.  As to each of these counts, ALFORTISH and PARKER face a maximum of life imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to five years of supervised release.

Count Thirteen charges ALFORTISH and PARKER with causing Garrison’s death through the use of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(j)(1) and 2.  The maximum penalty is any term of years including life imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to five years of supervised release.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson reiterated that the superseding indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendants must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section of the Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, would like to acknowledge the tremendous work of the FBI, the New Orleans Police Department, and the Louisiana State Police with this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew R. Payne; Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba, Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit; Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Katherine Kaufman; and Trial Attorney J. Ryan McLaren of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section.