NEW ORLEANS — A federal jury has found personal injury attorneys Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles guilty on all charges in a trial over an alleged scheme involving staged collisions with 18-wheelers, a case first exposed by WWL Louisiana.
Prosecutors said Giles and Motta paid so-called “slammers” to intentionally crash into tractor-trailers so they could file lawsuits and collect larger settlement payouts. Transportation officials say this drove up insurance rates across the state. The attorneys admitted the existence of the scheme, but insisted they were unaware of its full scope.
Motta, Giles and their respective law firms were convicted of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, multiple mail fraud counts, witness tampering and obstruction of justice. The two attorneys remained expressionless throughout much of the trial, but the courtroom became emotional after the verdict was read…