A significant shift has occurred in the legal proceedings involving individuals suspected of orchestrating staged truck accidents within the New Orleans region. This twist comes mere weeks prior to a crucial sentencing event linked to the case.
Breaking a year-long hiatus in fresh indictments that were not accompanied by corresponding guilty pleas, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana announced the issuance of the initial set of new indictments on Monday. While a majority of the prior indictment unveilings coincided with admissions of guilt related to mail fraud or wire fraud charges, the past several months had seen a notable reduction in such announcements, marking a relatively quiet period following the flurry of disclosures in 2021 and 2022.
The emergence of these five new indictments transpired only a short time before the impending sentencing of Damian Labeaud, whose court date is scheduled for August 31st after encountering earlier delays. Having entered a plea of guilty to wire fraud charges in August 2020, Labeaud’s name has recurrently surfaced in various news releases issued by the U.S. attorney’s office, often positioned as a central figure in the alleged endeavor to stage truck accidents as a means to illicitly acquire insurance payouts.
In the most recent set of indictments, five individuals – namely Antoine Clark, Dimitri Frazier, Shirley Harris, Adonte Turner, and Tiffany Turner – have been formally accused of wire fraud and conspiring to execute wire fraud. The crux of the alleged wire fraud lies in the purported collaboration of these indicted parties, who purportedly engaged in the deliberate staging of automobile collisions involving tractor-trailers within New Orleans, all aimed at deceiving trucking and insurance companies. This assertion is grounded in the content of the indictment.
The indictment revisits terrain that is well-trodden. Throughout the array of indictments and admissions of guilt involving over 40 individuals linked to what the U.S. Attorney’s office termed “Operation Sideswipe,” the operational pattern remains remarkably consistent.
A contingent of participants, some colloquially referred to as “slammers” or “spotters,” scoured for a suitable truck to orchestrate a collision. Subsequently, a car containing these individuals positioned itself strategically to simulate an accident involving the targeted truck. After the impact, there were instances where participants exchanged positions within the vehicle, driven by the desire to attribute the role of the driver at the time of the accident to a specific individual.
Subsequent claims of varying injuries emerged, resulting in unnecessary medical treatments in certain cases and, in the most extreme instances, surgeries performed by seemingly complicit medical professionals. Insurance companies or trucking entities then disbursed compensation. While some payouts amounted to thousands of dollars, others reached into the millions. (Notably, C.R. England paid out approximately $4.7 million.)
The latest indictment centers on two collisions, pinpointing the trucking companies God’s Way Trucking based in Statesboro, Georgia, and Whitestone Transportation situated in Moselle, Mississippi, as the targets. Curiously, both companies were under the coverage of Canal Insurance, the coincidental insurer for both carriers.
The incident involving a God’s Way truck transpired on April 24, 2017, while the Whitestone collision occurred on November 13, 2017.
Although the indictment provides limited information regarding payouts from Canal, unlike some other indictments that delve into detailed accounts of monetary transactions involving scheme participants, it does reveal that an unidentified co-conspirator, referred to as “C,” did receive a $10,000 payment from Canal in connection with the collision involving the God’s Way truck.
The indictment contains references to several unidentified individuals implicated in the conspiracy. Apart from the unnamed co-conspirator C, there are also mentions of co-conspirators A, B, and D, as well as Attorney A.
Co-conspirator A is likely identifiable as Cornelius Garrison. Shortly after his indictment in connection with Operation Sideswipe in September 2020, he was fatally shot in his residence. No arrests have been made in connection with his murder. The indictment specifies a date of death for co-conspirator A that aligns with the time of Garrison’s assassination.
The inclusion of unidentified co-conspirators and an unnamed attorney in the recent indictment adds to a considerable roster of individuals who have yet to face charges. This amplifies the significance of the impending Lebeaud sentencing.
Lebeaud’s frequent mentions in other indictments and sentencing declarations, coupled with the prolonged postponement of his own sentencing, raises the prospect of his potential cooperation with the ongoing investigation by the U.S. attorney into Operation Sideswipe. If the scheduled date of August 31 holds, it implies that the U.S. attorney’s office may have determined that LeBeaud’s cooperation has provided the necessary information.
Furthermore, Lebeaud had a close working relationship with Danny Keating, the New Orleans attorney who confessed his involvement in orchestrating numerous staged accidents and pleaded guilty in June 2021. The U.S. attorney revealed that Keating collaborated with Lebeaud to stage 31 separate collisions and represented 77 clients implicated in these incidents.
While the U.S. attorney’s office has ceased to provide precise figures on the number of secured guilty pleas in recent announcements, it remains over 40 but less than 77. None of the cases have proceeded to trial.
Keating stands as the sole indicted attorney at this point. Despite his plea deal being announced over two years ago, he is yet to be sentenced. Just this month, the court established a sentencing date of December 7 for Keating.
Other attorneys involved in separate collisions have not faced indictments. The indictments mention Attorneys A through E. It remains uncertain whether the Attorney A mentioned in the recent indictment is distinct from the Attorney A referred to in the group of unidentified lawyers in the earlier indictments.
Medical personnel implicated in the operation, who are strongly implied to have knowingly performed unnecessary medical procedures on individuals feigning injuries from the accidents, have also evaded legal consequences so far.
