NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice announced recently that a 13-count second superseding indictment had been returned last Friday 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 regarding Operation Sideswipe, Sean D. Alfortish, 57, of New Orleans and Leon Parker, 51, of New Orleans allegedly conspired to murder federal witness, Cornelius Garrison.
According to the media release on the indictment, The FBI says Garrison had been a “slammer” in the scheme to stage automobile collisions, including by sideswiping 18-wheeler tractor-trailers and other commercial vehicles, and was cooperating with the feds 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 and Parker along with Vanessa Motta, 43, of New Orleans of Motta Law, LLC, a law firm in New Orleans, Jason Giles, 46, of New Orleans, Diaminike Stalwart, 34, of Metairie, La., Carl Morgan, 66, of New Orleans, and Timara Lawerence, 34, of New Orleans, with participating in the scheme to defraud insurance companies and commercial trucking companies through fraudulently staged automobile collisions. The indictment also names The King Firm, a law firm in New Orleans as well.
The indictment alleges that the group of defendants as well as 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.
The indictment alleges that 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 individual “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 indictment alleges that attorneys pursued fraudulent claims and fraudulent lawsuits knowing they were based on staged collisions.
Earlier in April, Congressmen Mike Collins and Brandon Gill introduced a bill that would make it a federal crime to engineer a crash with a commercial motor vehicle.
The operation began in 2023 when 51-year-old David Brown of Morgan City, Louisiana, 70-year-old Gilda Henderson of Morgan City, 30-year-old Latrell Johnson of New Orleans, and 51-year-old Stacie Wheaten of Fairburn, Georgia, were sentenced on Feb. 8 for conspiracy to commit mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.
And on Feb. 14, 62-year-old John Diggs of Thibodaux, Louisiana, and 68-year-old James Williams of Gibson, Louisiana, were both sentenced to 10 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Lance M. Africk after they pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
