Latest news with #OperationSideswipe
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Yahoo
2 more charged in death of Louisiana staged accident witness
A new indictment in the staged accident scam in Louisiana charges a disbarred lawyer and another man with participating in the murder of a cooperating witness who was gunned down in his home in 2020. The superseding indictment in what prosecutors have dubbed Operation Sideswipe was unsealed Friday and reported by the U.S. attorney's office Monday. It replaces a January indictment that charged Ryan Harris, 36, also known as Red, with murdering Cornelius Garrison at his home. When that indictment was unsealed, Harris had agreed to plead guilty to the charges. He was first indicted in May 2024. But in the legal document known as the proffer that was released in connection with Harris' guilty plea, it was revealed that Harris had identified disbarred lawyer Sean Alfortish and Leon Parker, also known as Chunky, with participating in Garrison's murder. They were not indicted at the time. Alfortish had been working with law firms involved in Operation proffer says Parker murdered Garrison and that Alfortish paid him for the act. As for Harris' role, he arranged for Altorfish and Parker to meet, according to the proffer. 'Harris knew that, by arranging the meeting between Alfortish and Parker, he was assisting Alfortish and Parker's scheme to murder Garrison.' Harris was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Harris was first indicted in May 2024 along with Jovanna Gardner. But prosecutors later concluded Gardner had only minimal involvement in Garrison's shooting, and her case was dismissed after she pleaded guilty to witness tampering. The indictment, as a superseding legal step, also reiterates the earlier indictments of several other attorneys and their firms that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana says were involved in the planning of Operation Sideswipe. The series of staged accidents began as far back as 2011 with the goal of prying loose insurance payouts from trucking companies and insurers. The largest payout is believed to involve an accident with truckload carrier C.R. England that totaled about $4.75 indictment charging Alfortish and Parker with Garrison's murder said they conspired with 'others known and unknown to the grand jury' in Garrison's shooting. Parker and Alfortish are in custody, according to the court filing that set May 14 as the date for the arraignment of all the defendants in the case. The others are free on bond from the original indictment. It is the indictment of Alfortish and Parker that is fresh in the superseding indictment. Otherwise, its verbiage appears identical to the December indictment against the other defendants who were charged with much of the planning for Operation Sideswipe: attorney Vanessa Motta, 43 of New Orleans; the Motta law firm; Jason Giles, 46, of New Orleans, an attorney and partner at the King Firm, a New Orleans law firm that also was indicted; and defendants, Diaminike Stalbert, Carl Morgan and Timara Lawrence. (Local media in New Orleans reported that Motta, a former stuntwoman, The latter three were charged with being part of the staged accidents. Earlier indictments of others who were not planners but participated in the collisions primarily with Class 8 vehicles but also with buses and high-priced cars have mostly resulted in guilty pleas on charges of mail fraud. Out of 63 indictments so far, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office said there have been 51 guilty pleas, with no indictments going to trial. (In an unusual twist, Motta's mother has asked U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to intervene in the case, according to local press reports.) The indictment also refers to the participation of slammers 'G, H and I' without identification. Slammers, in the staged accident scam, created the collision with a vehicle and then exited their own automobile as soon as the crash took place, with somebody else taking their spot in the driver's seat. Two of the organizers of the scam, Damian Labeaud (who also was a slammer) and attorney Danny Keating, pleaded guilty in 2020 (Labeaud) and 2021 (Keating). Their respective sentencings have been delayed multiple times; Labeaud's was to be in early May but was recently postponed until October. Keating's sentencing scheduled for earlier this year also got pushed to that recap in the superseding indictment includes references to several people who already have pleaded guilty, including Keating and Labeaud. The sentences handed down so far in the case range from probation to home detention to four years in federal prison. The U.S. attorney's office also notes attorneys 'C,D,E and F' as being part of the planning and execution of Operation Sideswipe. That suggests indictments of other attorneys may be handed down in the future. Those unidentified attorneys 'knowingly pursued fraudulent lawsuits based on staged collisions,' according to the superseding indictment. Earlier indictments referred to attorneys 'A and B.' Those two letters are not mentioned in the latest round, suggesting they were the attorneys and law firms in the superseding indictment who are now identified: the Motta firm and the King firm. The specific charges against Parker and Alfortish are witness tampering through murder, conspiracy to retaliate against a witness through murder and causing death through use of a firearm. More articles by John Kingston A market on the precipice: 5 takeaways from the April State of Freight Wall Street embraces Ryder's mildly positive earnings report then pulls back TFI's Bedard upbeat on revamped US LTL operations even as numbers sink The post 2 more charged in death of Louisiana staged accident witness appeared first on FreightWaves.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Yahoo
House bill targets staged truck crashes
WASHINGTON – Fraudsters who stage truck accidents with the goal of suing trucking companies for millions of dollars will face stiff penalties if Congress approves new legislation. The Staged Accident Fraud Prevention Act, introduced in the U.S. House on Tuesday by Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., and Brandon Gill, R-Texas, would make intentionally staging a crash with a motor vehicle a federal crime. According to the legislation, a person operating a motor vehicle who intentionally causes a collision with a commercial motor vehicle – or arranges for another person to cause a collision – will be fined, imprisoned for up to 20 years or both. If the collision results in serious injury or death, the prison sentence changes to at least 20 years. 'Increasingly, con artists in passenger vehicles are intentionally colliding with commercial motor vehicles to file frivolous lawsuits, seeking damages that often exceed seven figures,' the lawmakers stated in a press release announcing the bill. 'These accidents endanger highway travelers, drive up the costs of insurance, and put small owner-operators out of business. The [legislation] establishes clear, enforceable criminal penalties for those who stage these collisions, as well as the attorneys, physicians, and other co-conspirators who knowingly participate in this fraud.' One of the biggest fake-crash cases involving a semitruck, which prosecutors have dubbed Operation Sideswipe, has been ongoing in Louisiana since 2019. It involved scores of staged crashes and resulted in 63 indictments. 'When con artists seeking a big payday intentionally collide with commercial motor vehicles, their reckless disregard for safety puts innocent truck drivers and the motoring public at risk,' said Henry Hanscom, American Trucking Associations senior vice president of legislative affairs, in a statement. 'These unscrupulous individuals perpetuate their selfish actions by filing frivolous lawsuits against honest trucking companies, raising costs for consumer goods and contributing to soaring insurance premiums.' The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association also sees the need for legislation targeting staged crashes. 'To add insult to injury, criminals abuse the legal system for profit through false accusations and lawsuits, which contribute to skyrocketing insurance premiums for small trucking businesses,' said Lewie Pugh, executive vice president of OOIDA, in a statement. The legislation, Pugh said, will 'protect law-abiding truckers from sophisticated criminal fraud schemes that exploit the hardworking men and women behind the wheel.' Louisiana staged accident scam investigation springs back to life Should there be laws protecting trucking companies from nuclear verdicts? Towing fraud, staged accidents targeted by new coalition that includes ATA Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher. The post House bill targets staged truck crashes appeared first on FreightWaves.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fighting Back Against Truck Accident Fraud and Why Visibility Matters
The trucking industry has come under siege in recent years with everything from higher taxes, high fuel costs, low-rate freight and increased insurance premiums to cargo theft, carrier ID theft and nuclear verdicts from highway accident litigation. Another recent development for carriers that must be considered is staged accidents designed to exploit insurance claims and extract massive settlements from carriers. These fraudulent schemes often orchestrated by criminal networks have plagued states like Louisiana and New York, costing the industry hundreds of millions of dollars. In one of the most notorious cases, 'Operation Sideswipe' uncovered a large-scale fraud ring in New Orleans, where over 60 individuals, including attorneys, were charged for orchestrating staged accidents involving commercial trucks. New York has also seen its share of insurance fraud, with a crisis in taxi and rideshare insurance largely attributed to organized crime and fraudulent claims. Insurers are facing catastrophic losses exceeding $700 million, jeopardizing the stability of the commercial vehicle insurance market. The commercial vehicle insurance market has lost money for years despite double-digit increases in premiums for fleets annually. Adding fuel to the fire is the growing influence of third-party litigation financing (TPLF), in which third-party funds and private investors bankroll lawsuits in exchange for a portion of the settlement. While intended to help plaintiffs who lack resources, TPLF has driven up the frequency of nuclear verdict lawsuit payouts exceeding $10 million by encouraging aggressive legal tactics against motor carriers. The result? Skyrocketing insurance premiums and an industry increasingly wary of frivolous claims. Trucking companies are turning to dashcams to counter these risks and use them as indemnification tools to protect their fleets from fraudulent claims. Dashcams from providers like Motive, etc., offer real-time recording, GPS tracking and AI-powered insights, providing indemnification against he said, she said scenarios in the event of a crash. Here's how they make a difference: Fraudulent accident schemes like 'Swoop and Squat,' where scammers slam their brakes to induce a rear-end collision, can be disproved with dashcam footage. If a driver intentionally swerves or brakes abruptly without cause, the footage exposes the fraud. Eighty percent of crashes involving commercial vehicles are not the fault of the operator. Yet, in many cases, truckers are blamed for accidents they didn't cause. Dual-facing dashcams record both the road and the driver's actions, proving whether a driver was attentive and acting responsibly. Dashcams equipped with G-sensors and telematics detect sudden stops, acceleration and even lane changes. This data helps reconstruct accidents, supporting a carrier's defense. Many carriers settle fraudulent claims rather than risk long, expensive lawsuits. With dashcams, companies avoid these payouts by immediately proving fault or lack thereof. A strong compliance program integrating dashcam visibility is essential for surviving highway accident litigation and mitigating its effect on carriers. Fleets that proactively implement AI-driven safety technology, incident monitoring and real-time coaching can significantly reduce liability exposure. Systems like Motive's AI Dashcam can detect distracted driving and issue alerts to prevent incidents before they happen. This allows fleets to coach drivers on changing habitual behaviors. Properly recorded dashcam footage can streamline legal defense by ensuring accurate documentation of driver behavior and mitigating false claims. Many insurers now offer lower premiums to fleets that install AI dashcams, reducing the financial strain of excessive litigation. However, these discounts aren't always exclusive to AI dashcams. Cameras like Nexar, Garmin, etc., might not have AI behavior detection but still provide indemnification, have no recurring fees and offer valuable visibility to protect fleets. The fight against fraudulent insurance claims is far from over. As long as criminal networks and litigation financiers see trucking and vocational fleets as easy targets, the industry must remain proactive. Visibility is the key to prevention. By equipping fleets with the right dashcam technology and enforcing defensible compliance programs, carriers can protect their drivers, businesses and bottom lines. The trucking industry is constantly adapting and pivoting. With smart dashcams and proactive risk management, carriers are protected from fraudulent accident claims. Instead, they are turning the tables, using data, AI, and visibility to fight back against insurance fraud, one frame at a time. The post Fighting Back Against Truck Accident Fraud and Why Visibility Matters appeared first on FreightWaves.
