NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Federal prosecutors called multiple witnesses Wednesday in the fraud and obstruction of justice trial against Hollywood stunt driver turned personal injury attorney Vanessa Motta, attorney Jason Giles, the firms they worked for and alleged co-conspirator Diamanike Stalbert, aiming to lay out a years-long fraud scheme.
During opening statements Wednesday morning, the government outlined an alleged conspiracy dating back to 2011. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Klebba said Motta and Giles paid “slammers” hundreds of thousands of dollars to crash into mostly tractor-trailers and file fraudulent lawsuits to get big settlements.
Klebba told jurors the case centered on greed, insurance fraud and the exploitation of the legal system in a case authorities have said cost the state millions of dollars and hiked up car insurance rates…