Vanessa Motta, a 43-year-old former stuntwoman turned attorney, is facing federal charges in an alleged scheme involving staged car accidents and fraudulent insurance claims in New Orleans. Federal authorities allege Motta, her disbarred fiancé Sean Alfortish, and several others conspired to stage collisions with 18-wheelers and subsequently file false claims. The scheme reportedly involved "slammers," individuals who intentionally caused the accidents, and getaway drivers who aided their escape. Passengers in the "slammer" vehicles would then falsely claim to have been driving, supported by fabricated witness accounts blaming the truck drivers.
Motta, who allegedly orchestrated the fraudulent claims following the staged accidents, pleaded not guilty in court. Her attorney, Sean Toomey, maintains that if the accidents were indeed staged, Motta herself was a victim of manipulation. Motta established her law practice, Motta Law, LLC, in 2017.
Motta, Alfortish, and another attorney, Jason Giles, who also allegedly represented plaintiffs in the fraudulent crash cases, had their law licenses suspended in December. They face charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering. Several other individuals allegedly involved in staging or facilitating the crashes were also indicted.
Prosecutors contend that one of the alleged "slammers," Ryan "Red" Harris, murdered his former accomplice, Cornelius Garrison, to prevent him from revealing details of the scheme. Garrison had been cooperating with federal investigators before his death in September 2020. Jovanna Gardner, who was reportedly romantically involved with Harris, stated that he confessed to the murder and threatened her life if she spoke about it. Garrison's murder significantly hampered the federal investigation known as "Operation Sideswipe," which resulted in charges against 50 individuals. To date, only one attorney, Danny Keating Jr., has been convicted and is awaiting sentencing.
Currently, only Parker and Alfortish are incarcerated. Prosecutors allege Alfortish attempted to silence Garrison through bribes and offers to relocate him to the Bahamas before his murder. Motta was released on a $25,000 bond pending trial, while Giles was released on a $100,000 secured bond. Motta's previous career as a stuntwoman included work on films such as "Jurassic World," "Logan," "Furious 7," and "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes."
