By Erin Lowrey
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NEW ORLEANS (WDSU) — Another star witness for the federal government has taken the stand in a wide-ranging staged wrecks trial.
Ryan Harris, who pleaded guilty to staging wrecks as a slammer in the scheme, took the stand Monday morning.
Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles are standing 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.
Harris, who was indicted in connection with the staged wrecks as well as an investigation into the killing of a federal witness in the case, pleaded guilty to three charges in January 2025.
Harris pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, wire fraud, and causing death by use of a firearm.
While on the stand, Harris testified that he was paid by Motta and her fiancé, Sean Alfortish, to stage multiple crashes.
He admitted to staging wrecks for his cousin Shirley, Whalen Collins, Woneyesha Winchester, and Tiffany Turner.
According to Harris, the indictment against him did not include every crash he was a part of.
Harris said he was responsible for making sure people involved in crashes gave consistent stories.
According to Harris, he would also meet in conference rooms at Motta’s office to coach people involved in wrecks on what to say and how to explain the crashes.
Harris testified to Motta instructing him to add damage to crashes in instances where cars only had minor damage in the staged wrecks to make sure it matched up with the injuries people were claiming.
Harris said he and Cornelius Garrison, a slammer in the scheme who was murdered, staged over 80 crashes for Motta and Alfortish.
According to Harris, he helped Garrison recruit people for crashes.
Some of the people he recruited were his cousin Shirley and his friend Winchester.
Harris said Winchester was a close friend who used a church van in her wreck.
For his cousin Shirley’s wreck, Harris testified that her cases resulted in a lawsuit and that he warned her that what they were doing was fraud.
“I told her there are going to be some bad ones. We talked about this plenty of times — it’s fraud,” Harris said on the stand.
Harris also testified to other wrecks, including one where a group left a family function in New Orleans East and purposefully crashed into an 18-wheeler.
Harris admitted to being the driver in this crash and that he recommended Motta to the rest of the group.
In other cases, Harris admitted to being a spotter in the scheme. A spotter would watch nearby and make sure the crashes were facilitated.
In these instances, Garrison would be the slammer.
While on the stand, Harris testified to two companies that were listed on payment documents from Motta’s firm.
One company was Harris’ landscaping company, and another company was a T-shirt company linked to Collins, who was a participant in some of the staged wrecks.
Harris said Motta never bought T-shirts.
Harris then described breaking off from Garrison and staging wrecks on his own.
He said that Garrison “showed him what to do,” so he continued to work for Motta and Alfortish until 2023.
Harris described shifting to car-on-car crashes instead of 18-wheelers, describing those crashes as being his preference.
According to Harris, he’d staged car-on-car crashes in New Orleans east because it was dark, and there were few houses nearby.
Harris then spoke on how Motta coached him on insurance policies.
According to Harris, he said Motta explained to him how to make sure damage to cars was sufficient, and even outlined which insurance companies paid the most.
Harris said Motta told him specifically that Liberty Mutual “pays out pretty good” and encouraged him to target people with these policies.
According to Harris, at one point, Motta tried to pressure him to get a surgery called “ablation.”
He testified that Motta told him to “Just get it. We’ve been dealing with accidents for a while, you’ll end up needing it down the line.”
According to Harris, he was in the process of getting the surgery when he was arrested in 2024.
Harris ended his testimony describing his relationship with Motta as a friendship. He said they even met each other’s families and that he “did not keep anything secret” from her about staging crashes.
Motta’s attorney, Sean Toomey, began cross examining Harris, specifically questioning who paid him.
Harris testified that he never received checks out of Motta’s personal account, but that the payments came from Alfortish’s account or company.
Toomey stressed that even if Motta paid him, the actual checks came from Alfortish, and not Motta directly.
Toomey also pointed out difference in Harris’ statement to the FBI about Motta.
According to Toomey, Harris told the FBI he split cases between Motta’s firm and The King Firm with Garrison.
Harris told Toomey he “had no control” over the King firm, only Motta’s firm.
Toomey also pointed out that Harris had told the federal government that Motta did not say she knew the accidents were staged.
Harris said he believed she knew because it was “common sense.”
“Vanessa knew. We talked about it a lot,” Harris said during Toomey’s questioning.
Harris repeated multiple times that he had no control over what was in the FBI’s notes. He also told Toomey that he never told Motta the crashes were legitimate or that he had nothing to do with fraud.
Toomey also questioned Harris about the sentence he is facing, and whether or not he was given a sentence reduction for his cooperation.
Harris stressed he was testifying to tell the truth, and that the government has not guaranteed him anything for his cooperation, saying the sentence was “up to the judge.”
Toomey also questioned him about any meetings he had with the federal government to prepare for trial.
Harris said the meeting he was a part of only explained how the trial would work, and prepared him for being questioned.
Toomey then tried to introduce recordings into the trial, but the court called a break before any audio was played.
When court returned, the audio was never played and Linda Van Davis, Giles attorney, cross examined Harris.
Van Davis asked Harris about the cases he brought to the King Firm.
Harris testified that he brought more than a dozen cases to the firm, but couldn’t think of any specific names.
One name was provided to Harris, Jasmine Howard.
According to Van Davis, the King Firm closed Howard’s case in 2019 due to suspicion of fraud.
Harris told Van Davis that he participated in over 80 crashes, and wouldn’t remember all of them.
Van Davis also questioned Harris on who paid him from the King Firm.
According to Harris, Garrison paid him, not Giles.
Harris said he did not personally know Giles, and only recognized him from seeing him on the news.
According to Harris, he mainly dealt with Garrison and a person named “Spider” who dealt with Giles. According to Harris, “Spider” also brought cases to the King Firm and handled all interactions with Giles.
Harris said he never went inside the King Firm, and was not sure if Garrison ever did either.
Before Harris ended his testimony, the federal government asked him again what law firm he primarily used for staged accidents, and who paid him.
Harris said he used Motta’s firm, specifically saying he, “did not feel the need to use another law firm.”
Harris reiterated that Motta knew the crashes were staged, and even instructed him to tell people he worked for Alfortish if his payments were questioned, even though he worked for her.
Harris testimony ended right before a lunch break in the trial.
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 Toomey and Giles by 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 homicide of a federal witness, Garrison, who was killed in 2020 after agreeing to cooperate with the investigation.
Two men, Alfortish, Motta’s fiancé, and 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.
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