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In the News

9 more charged in scheme to stage I-10 vehicle wrecks, collect insurance payouts

New Orleans Advocate, September 18, 2020

Nine more people have been indicted on federal charges in a scheme to crash vehicles into buses and big trucks in the New Orleans area, in order to defraud insurance companies. They join 19 other defendants already under indictment.

Insurers have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle the fraudulent claims, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

In Friday’s new indictment, Cornelius Garrison, 54, of New Orleans is accused of staging two wrecks in exchange for $150,000 from a co-conspirator who has not been publicly identified. Garrison was one of the ring’s five “slammers” directly responsible for the crashes, typically at night to avoid eyewitnesses, on Interstate 10 between Slidell and Baton Rouge, prosecutors said. Two other alleged slammers have died since their indictment, and two more, Damian Labeaud and Roderick Hickman, were charged previously.

Prosecutors said Garrison targeted more than 50 commercial vehicles such as tractor-trailer rigs on stretches of I-10 patrolled by the New Orleans Police Department, not by the Louisiana State Police. After the wrecks, the U.S. attorney’s office said, Garrison “would usually exit the vehicle from the passenger side in order to avoid being seen by the driver of the target vehicle. Garrison instructed the passengers to call 911 to report that they had been hit by a vehicle. A passenger in the vehicle would falsely claim to have been the driver.”

In two wrecks, insurance companies paid a total of almost $708,000. One involved a 2014 Dodge Avenger crashing into a Hotard bus on I-10 near I-510 on Oct. 15, 2015. The other saw a Toyota RAV4 crash into an Averitt Express tractor trailer on I-10 near the Almonaster Avenue exit on Sept. 6, 2017.

The other eight defendants charged Friday were identified as:

  • Chandrika Brown, 29, of Slidel, who was reported to be a passenger in the Avenger
  • Dewayne Coleman, 21, of Marrero, a passenger in the RAV4
  • Doniesha Gibson, 29, of New Orleans, who reportedly owned the Avenger
  • Doniesha Lee, 30, of Harvey, a passenger in the RAV4
  • Donreion Lee, 22, of Harvey, another passenger in the RAV4
  • Ishais Price, 49, of New Orleans, said to be another passenger in the Avenger
  • Aisha Thompson, 42, of New Orleans, an alias for a person who also was a passenger in the RAV4
  • Erica Lee Thompson, 46, of Harvey, who owned the RAV4.

The new defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and six counts of mail fraud. If convicted, they face as long as 25 years in prison plus fines, although maximum penalties in federal court are rare for first-time offenders.

The U.S. attorney’s office credited the FBI, Louisiana State Police and Metropolitan Crime Commission for help in the investigation. Prosecutors on the case are assistant U.S. attorneys Brian Klebba, Edward Rivera Maria Carboni.

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Texans for Lawsuit Reform

3 days ago

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

Facing tough questions from state senators, embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defended his office’s failed effort to overturn presidential election results in key battleground states and its decision to spend millions of dollars on a lawsuit against Google. Read and share: bit.ly/3k1cO7S ... See MoreSee Less

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Texas senators grill embattled Attorney General Ken Paxton over election lawsuit, Google case

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Facing tough questions from state senators, embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defended his office’s failed effort to overturn presidential election results in key battleground states and i...
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Texans for Lawsuit Reform

4 days ago

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

Gov. Greg Abbott in his State of the State address said he wanted to shield Texas businesses that have remained open during the pandemic and followed state COVID-19 protocols from customer and employee lawsuits. He made that one of his five emergency priorities this legislative session, and several groups that represent small businesses applauded the decision. Read and share: bit.ly/2ZGOejz ... See MoreSee Less

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Some small businesses worried about COVID-19 lawsuits, despite statewide protections expected

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Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott in his State of the State address said he wanted to shield Texas businesses that have remained open during the pandemic and followed state COVID-19 protocols from customer ...
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Texans for Lawsuit Reform

5 days ago

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

Commercial Vehicle Litigation_Paul Cervantes ... See MoreSee Less

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26 Feb 1365346286115958793

Embattled Texas AG Ken Paxton defended his office’s failed effort to overturn presidential election results in key battleground states & its decision to spend millions of dollars on a lawsuit against Google. Read & RT: #lawsuitreform #tortreform

Texas senators grill embattled Attorney General Ken Paxton over election lawsuit, Google case

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25 Feb 1365044100299452418

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