Wide-ranging New Orleans staged wrecks trial begins. Follow here for updates

Opening statements are underway Wednesday in a wide-ranging New Orleans staged wrecks trial. Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles are set to stand trial for three weeks and are both accused of staging car crashes to fraudulently collect insurance money. Motta, a former stuntwoman turned plaintiff's lawyer, and Giles, a principal at the King Firm, are charged with wire fraud, mail fraud, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. Jury selection was held over the course of two days. A total of 12 jurors were selected, as well as six alternates. Judge Wendy Vitter read the full indictment to jurors ahead of opening statements, and is allowing them to take notes. Federal government calls witnesses to stand: James Ridder, a special agent with the FBI, was the first witness called by the government to testify. Ridder has been a special agent for 10 years, and has a background in cyber security. Ridder explained how he reviewed digital evidence from cellphones connected to the case. Chandrika Brown, who pleaded guilty in connection with the scheme, also testified to working with Cornelius Garrison to stage wrecks. She explained a situation where Garrison crashed into a bus in New Orleans East. He walked away from the crash while she and other passengers swapped seats. Andrea Albert, an attorney for the Galloway firm, who primarily handles personal injury cases for trucking companies. Albert testified that she handled a civil lawsuit involving Leon Parker, who is accused of shooting and killing Cornelius Garrison, a federal witness and slammer in the scheme. Albert said a petition for damages were filed in the case by Darnell Harris and Selita Harris. They alleged their were passengers in the crash with an 18-wheeler and were injured. The 18-wheeler was pulling into a Family Dollar at the time of the crash. According to Albert, a cross claim was filed by The King Firm in the case, noting attorney signatures, including Giles. Albert also spoke about her interactions with Giles, calling him a talented lawyer who she met 20 years ago. She described taking depositions at The King Firm for cases, described it as a "frat house."Albert said the firm did not have clean bathrooms or toilet paper, and that she moved depositions back to her office for the case. Defense gives opening statements: Rick Simmons: Attorney Rick Simmons, who is representing The King Firm in the trial, began opening statements for the defense. Simmons argued that the case was not about staged accident, rather about clients lying to lawyers about the accidents. Simmons said the King Firm obtained good results from cases, and that referrals came from the success of the firm and advertising. He then pressed the jury to find a distinction between legitimate accidents and staged accidents, saying he would present that Giles and the firm did their due diligence when the allegations of suspicious activity were raised. Simmons also said the King Firm had nothing to do with the slammers, specifically Labeaud and Harris. He also claims Labeaud and Keating operated separately from the King Firm, saying the date of the last staged accident was when Labeaud was transitioning to work for the Keating Firm. Simmons says he has recordings of Labeaud that were delivered to the FBI as part of the investigation into the scheme. He also stressed that the King Firm had "nothing to do" with Garrison, the federal witness killed, or Harris, a slammer who has already pleaded guilty in the case. "We did what we were supposed to do in due diligence, we fall off their charts," said Simmons. Simmons said the jury will find evidence that accidents were staged, but that they wont find knowledge from the King Firm. "You'll find clients lying to their lawyers about staged accidents," said Simmons. Lynda Van Davis: Lynda Van Davis is representing Jason Giles in the trial and gave her opening statements after Simmons. Van Davis painted the picture of a conspiracy to the jury in her opening argument. According to Davis, slammers, spotters, recruiters, passengers and runners are described in the indictment regarding the scheme, but that lawyers weren't on the list. "That's the thing that is going to be missing in this case. In order to do the object of a conspiracy, you need a lawyer," said Van Davis. "Would I actually tell my lawyer that I staged an accident? Because my lawyer will take my case? Of course not."Van Davis said there is no credible evidence of Giles having an agreement to stage wrecks. She also stressed to the jurors to "follow the money," claiming that there were no payments made to key players in the scheme. "The government is going to have to prove my client agreed to participate in this staged accident scheme," said Van Davis. "So, I want you to listen to every witness that comes here and listen to what they say. Do they say they have a conversation with Mr. Giles and that they knew these cases were staged? Van Davis stressed that Giles had no involvement with slammers Ryan Harris and Cornelius Garrison. She also said that once suspicions were raised within the firm, Giles acted accordingly. "My client made no agreement, my client had no knowledge, and my client was not a part of this staged collision conspiracy," said Van Davis. Sean Toomey: Sean Toomey is representing Vanessa Motta and her firm, Motta Law, in the staged wrecks trial. Toomey painted Motta to the jury as an inexperienced young lawyer who opened her own firm. He says she was a single mother who was trying to learn how to run a business, handle taxes and accounting, and was introduced to her fiancé' Sean Alfortish. Toomey blames Alfortish influence over her as a reason she was standing trial. According to Toomey, Alfortish swept Motta off her feet, presenting her a space for her law firm. He says they fell in love, and that unbeknownst to her, he was secretly paying Cornelius Garrison to stage wrecks. "She foolishly thought she was the hottest new lawyer in town, all the while Sean Alfortish is working behind the scenes, in the darkness, to make sure she was successful and get all the benefits of that. Because he's sleeping with her." Toomey claims Motta knew nothing of the scheme, and assumed the referrals were not staged. He stressed to the jurors that Motta was a "baby naive lawyer" with "terrible taste in men" but not a criminal. Federal government gives opening statements: Brian Klebba gave opening statements for the government. Klebba told jurors that the case is about free insurance fraud and the exploitation of the legal system. He called the allegations against Motta and Giles a "get-rich scheme" that they perpetrated and knowingly participated in. Klebba stressed to the jury that both Motta and Giles were plaintiffs' attorneys who staged collisions, emphasizing that the wrecks were "not accidents." According to Klebba, Motta and Giles paid people to recruit others to stage the wrecks for "big checks and big payouts." Klebba said Motta and King's motivation was greed, and accused them of creating "an endless pipeline of 18-wheeler collisions," saying "business was good" and profitable. He went on to explain that cases concerning collisions with 18-wheelers are rare and highly coveted for attorneys because of the potential for big payouts. Klebba said that by intentionally causing the wrecks, there was no need to wait for a client. Klebba stressed that King and Motta were paid millions in settlements.Klebba said that throughout the trial, jurors will hear from attorneys who raised red flags in these cases and see text messages between passengers and slammers. He said he will also outline that the wrecks happened in the same places and shared other similarities, with low impact and multiple passengers being handled by the same lawyers. Klebba said jurors will also hear from witnesses on how the scheme worked. He said that the jury would learn how the slammers would stage the wrecks and switch seats with the passengers so that different drivers would file insurance claims. Klebba also said that Damian Labeaud, a slammer in the case, will testify. Klebba says Labeaud will explain how he "made The King Firm rich" and testify to staging more than 100 wrecks for Giles. A former paralegal, Todd Smith, is also expected to testify in the case. According to Klebba, Smith reported Labeaud and the staged wrecks to Giles but was told not to worry about it. Danny Patrick Keating, an attorney who worked for the King Firm and pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme, will also testify. Ryan Harris and Roderick Hickman, two other slammers, are expected to testify to their roles in the scheme and their connection to Motta. Klebba said a passenger named Wayland Collins will testify to Motta making him undergo an unnecessary surgery for a bigger payout. Klebba also claims Collins will testify to Motta and Sean Alfortish, her fiance, instructing him to lie in his deposition and in trial. According to Klebba, an FBI agent will also testify regarding the statements made by Cornelius Garrison, a slammer and federal witness who was killed. The killing of Garrison will not be discussed in court and will be brought up separately in an August trial involving Alfortish and Leon Parker, the alleged shooter. About the scheme: The scheme has drawn significant attention from the legal community due to the state's high auto insurance rates. The federal investigation was launched months after WDSU Investigates broke the story in October 2018, following reports from lawyers for trucking companies about repeated involvement of the same individuals and law firms in multiple crashes, notably the Motta Firm and the King Law Firm. The investigation led to changes in state laws to better protect truck drivers, who are required to carry $1 million in liability insurance.More than 50 individuals have pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme after admitting to driving into tractor trailers to stage wrecks. In 2020, U.S. Attorney Peter Strasser described the scheme as "outrageous."Attorney Danny Keating, who pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing, reportedly collected over $1 million by handling 77 fraudulent cases. Keating is expected to testify at the trial, along with other lawyers who have received transactional immunity for their cooperation.Motta and Giles have pleaded not guilty, with Motta represented by former federal prosecutor Sean Toomey and Giles by former Judge Lynda Van Davis. The trial, presided over by Judge Wendy Vitter, a Donald Trump appointee, is expected to last four to five weeks. A significant aspect of the case involves the killing of a federal witness, Cornelius Garrison, who was killed in 2020 after agreeing to cooperate with the investigation. Two men, Sean Alfortish, Motta's fiance, and Leon Parker, are charged in the killing, with their trial set for August. Motta and Giles are not charged in connection with the killing, and the judge has separated those charges to be tried later. The jury will focus solely on whether the wrecks were staged and if Motta and Giles played key roles in the scheme.