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A New Orleans stuntwoman-turned-lawyer found herself in a heap of legal trouble after she was indicted in connection to an alleged scheme involving fraudulent lawsuits sparked by staged car crashes, according to authorities.
Vanessa Motta, 43, is facing federal charges after she allegedly took part in the plot by representing plaintiffs in the bogus crashes along with another lawyer.
Motta, her fiancé, Sean Alfortish, who is a disbarred lawyer, and several others all took part in the complex conspiracy in which individuals orchestrated car accidents, including intentionally colliding with 18-wheelers, around the New Orleans area, prosecutors alleged, according to reports.
The drivers, known as the slammers, would cause the crash, and then flee the scene with the help of another getaway driver, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The slammer’s passenger would then claim to be operating the vehicle leading up to the car wreck, the feds said.
The scheme also involved individuals acting as witnesses to claim the other vehicle was at fault, prosecutors said.
Motta allegedly got involved by filing fraudulent claims and fraudulent lawsuits following the crashes – which she pleaded not guilty to on Monday, according to Nola.com.
After she and others became aware of an investigation into the scheme, the defendants allegedly committed various acts of obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
In one instance, an alleged slammer, Ryan Harris, is accused of killing a former co-conspirator, Cornelius Garrison, to help cover up the crimes, according to authorities.
Motta was charged in early December with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
Motta, along with fellow attorney Jason Giles, had their law licenses suspended in late December following the charges, Nola.com reported.
The under-fire lawyer used to be a stuntwoman for various films including Jurassic World, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Logan and Furious 7, according to her IMDb profile.
Motta boasted about her former Hollywood career when attempting to attract legal clients, running a commercial that showed her involved in numerous stunts.
“Stuntwoman turned bad a– attorney,” a voiceover states on the 30-second ad. “When you need legal action, send ‘er in.”
Motta’s lawyer, Sean Toomey, has previously said his client isn’t guilty of the charges.
“If these accidents were in fact staged, my client was also a victim and taken advantage by others,” he said, according to Nola.com.
