- Prosecutors allege attorneys and associates staged truck crashes to file fraudulent insurance claims and lawsuits.
- The Louisiana Motor Transport Association says the schemes harmed truckers and contributed to higher costs.
- Two additional defendants tied to a related witness death are scheduled for trial in August.
Louisiana prosecutors and truckers are seeking justice in a trial involving attorneys accused of staging accidents with commercial vehicles to cash in on fraudulent insurance claims and lawsuits.
The case centers on various people who purportedly were automobile passengers, knew they were part of staged collisions and later lied as part of false insurance claims and lawsuits based on accidents, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Known as slammers, some participants allegedly drove automobiles and intentionally collided with 18-wheeler tractor-trailers and other commercial vehicles in the New Orleans area. After the accidents, the slammers reportedly fled the scene, while a passenger claimed to be driving during the accident…