Federal Trial Jury Convicts New Orleans Personal Injury Attorneys in Staged Collision Scheme

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - The U.S. Attorney's Office and the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice announced that on Friday, March 20, 2026, VANESSA MOTTA ("MOTTA"), age 44, and JASON F. GILES ("GILES"), age 47, were found guilty of all charges pending against them, following a three-week jury trial presided over by Chief U.S. District Judge Wendy B. Vitter. The jury also convicted law firms MOTTA LAW LLC and THE KING FIRM LLC and co-conspirator DIAMANIKE F. STALBERT ("STALBERT"), age 35.

The jury found MOTTA, MOTTA LAW, GILES, THE KING FIRM guilty of all counts against them. STALBERT was found guilty of making false statements to federal agents.

Count 1 charged all five defendants with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 1349. Count 2 charged GILES and THE KING FIRM, and counts 4 and 5 charged MOTTA and MOTTA LAW with mail fraud, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 2. Count 6 charged MOTTA and MOTTA LAW, and count 8 charged GILES and THE KING FIRM, with obstruction of justice, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. §§ 1503(a), 2. Count 7 charged MOTTA and MOTTA LAW, and count 9 charged GILES and THE KING FIRM, with witness tampering in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. §§ 1512(b)(1), 2. Count 10 charged STALBERT with making false statements to federal agents, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2).

According to court documents, the defendants participated in a long-running scheme to defraud insurance companies and commercial trucking companies by staging and litigating fraudulent automobile collisions to collect insurance company payouts. That scheme began approximately in December 2011 and continued until December 2024, and it involved New Orleans area personal injury attorneys (including MOTTA, MOTTA LAW, GILES, and THE KING FIRM) paying "slammers" to recruit passengers to participate in purposeful collisions with automobiles, especially 18-wheeler trucks with large commercial insurance policies. The attorneys would then litigate those cases on behalf of the passengers, often encouraging those passengers to seek medically unnecessary neck and back surgeries to incur medical costs and increase the size of future insurance company settlements. Along with slammers, attorneys, and passengers, the scheme also included "spotters," who drove getaway cars for the slammers, and "recruiters" like STALBERT, who facilitated numerous staged collisions by bringing new passengers into the scheme.

The jury also found MOTTA and MOTTA LAW guilty of obstruction of justice and witness tampering relating to an effort to pay a witness to move to the Bahamas to impede any cooperation with federal authorities. The jury likewise found GILES and THE KING FIRM guilty of obstruction of justice and witness tampering for secretly recording a charged individual in October 2020 in an effort to manufacture exculpatory evidence. STALBERT was acquitted of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

"Today's verdict was the culmination of a lengthy investigation that amassed overwhelming evidence proving the defendants' roles in a years-long scheme to defraud, as well as their subsequent efforts to obstruct justice and tamper with witnesses," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson. "MOTTA, MOTTA LAW, GILES, and THE KING FIRM successfully launched a fraudulent scheme of epic proportions that both victimized the judicial system, and exploited the auto insurance industry, all to enrich themselves with millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains." This prosecution, and today's verdict, makes clear that no one is above the law. I commend the trial team, and our law enforcement partners for their relentless and meticulous work to shine a light on this scourge and hold those involved responsible."

"The defendants in this case pursued personal fortune through lies and deception, that potentially impacted every auto insurance policy holder in Louisiana," said Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp of the FBI New Orleans Field Office. "The FBI along with our partners at the U.S. Attorney's Office, Louisiana State Police, and the Metropolitan Crime Commission have worked for the last seven years to uncover every instance of fraud, resulting in successful cases against more than fifty individuals. We will continue that pursuit as long as it takes."

Chief U.S. District Judge Wendy B. Vitter will sentence the defendants MOTTA and MOTTA LAW on July 7, 2026, GILES and THE KING FIRM on July 14, 2026, and STALBERT on July 21, 2026. The maximum penalty for mail fraud, mail and wire fraud conspiracy, and witness tampering is twenty years imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain to any defendant or twice the gross loss to any victim. The maximum penalty for obstruction of justice is ten years imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain to any defendant or twice the gross loss to any victim. The maximum penalty for making false statements to a federal agent is up to five years of imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release. The Court may also impose restitution. Additionally, each defendant also faces payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee per count of conviction.

Including this jury trial, sixty-three (63) defendants have been charged in the federal probe into the staging of automobile collisions with other vehicles in the New Orleans metropolitan area.

The U.S. Attorney's Office and the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section of the Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, would like to acknowledge the tremendous work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New Orleans Police Department, and the Louisiana State Police with this matter, as well as extending thanks to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office and the Metropolitan Crime Commission for their assistance.

The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew R. Payne, Senior Litigation Counsel; Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba, Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit; Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Katherine Kaufman; and Trial Attorneys J. Ryan McLaren and Samir Paul of the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section.