New Orleans stuntwoman-turned-lawyer accused of staging crashes to defraud the government
A former stuntwoman turned lawyer has been charged for her role in an alleged scheme to stage car crashes for insurance payouts.
Vanessa Motta, 43, pleaded not guilty in federal court Monday and was released on a $25,000 unsecured bond, it was reported NOLA.com.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged Motta in December with fraud, obstruction of justice and witness tampering in a staged car crash scheme in the New Orleans area.
Motta and her fiancé, suspended attorney Sean Alfortish, are accused of knowingly representing those who staged the crashes and pursuing fraudulent insurance claims. WWLTV.
The former stuntwoman worked in the entertainment industry for more than 18 years and received her law degree in 2015. website declared.
She worked on blockbuster films such as Jurassic World, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Friday the 13th. IMDB.
Motta opened her own law firm in 2017 and has represented “numerous clients in cases involving personal injury, car accidents, insurance claims, property damage and more.”
The blockbuster indictment alleged that several individuals plotted to deliberately stage car collisions with other vehicles in the New Orleans metropolitan area dating back to 2011.
Vanessa Motta (pictured), 43, has been charged for her role in an alleged scheme to stage car accidents for insurance payouts
Motta and her fiancé, suspended attorney Sean Alfortish, are accused of knowingly representing those who staged the crashes
Some participants, called slammers, drove the cars with a passenger and deliberately collided with 18-wheel tractor units and other commercial vehicles.
After the crash, the slammers allegedly fled the scene and the passenger falsely claimed to have been driving at the time of the collision.
Other individuals, called spotters, drove getaway cars that allowed the slammers to flee the scene after causing the collision. Some spotters posed as eyewitnesses to the crashes.
Motta is accused of committing several acts of obstruction of justice and tampering with witnesses to cover up the illegal hit-and-run scheme when they learned of the federal investigation in 2019.
Around October 2019, a slammer named Cornelius Garrison began collaborating covertly with the federal government.
Prosecutors allege Motta conspired to manipulate Garrison into making false statements to investigators and offered to pay for his relocation from the United States if he would stop cooperating with investigators.
However, Garrison was shot dead in the doorway of his mother’s home in September 2020.
Fellow slammer Ryan Harris is accused of killing Garrison to stop his cooperation with the government.
She worked on blockbuster films such as Jurassic World, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Friday the 13th
Motta opened her own law firm in 2017. She is accused of committing several acts of obstruction of justice and witness tampering
Motta’s attorney, Sean Toomey, told local news media that his client is “completely innocent of any wrongdoing.”
The Louisiana Supreme Court temporarily suspended Motta’s law license in December.
A trial date is scheduled for March 17.