Vanessa Motta, the New Orleans personal injury lawyer convicted last month of orchestrating a sprawling scheme to file bogus lawsuits in staged car crashes with big-rig trucks, is appealing her conviction and seeking a new trial, court records show.
Motta, who was convicted March 20 after a three-week jury trial on wire fraud, conspiracy, obstruction and witness tampering for the yearslong insurance scheme, argued in new court filings that prosecutors made “repeated threats” during the trial to invoke the slaying of a federal witness, Cornelius Garrison.
Motta worked closely with Garrison but was not charged with his 2020 murder, though her fiance and other associates face charges for his death…