Improper Joinder of Multiple Party Criminal Fraud Case With Co-Defendants Charged with Murder
Post 5172
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Murder Defendants Must be Tried Separately from Fraud Defendants
A case that involved allegations of a years-long scheme by over a dozen individuals to stage fake automobile collisions in the New Orleans metropolitan area and file fraudulent insurance claims and lawsuits based on the staged collisions. The key individuals involved included Cornelius Garrison, who began cooperating with the federal government in 2019 and was subsequently murdered on September 22, 2020.
FACTS
In United States Of America v. Ryan Harris, et al., CRIMINAL ACTION No. 24-105, United States District Court, E.D. Louisiana (July 25, 2025) the USCA dealt with motions to sever some defendants from the massive and admittedly complex case. There are 11 defendants charged with a multi-year conspiracy involving attorneys and some of the charges against some of the defendants include the murder of a government witness.
The government filed a second superseding indictment on April 25, 2025, charging multiple defendants with various crimes. Notably, only Sean D. Alfortish and Leon M. Parker were also charged with crimes related to Garrison’s murder.
ANALYSIS
In a Motion to Sever, Giles and the King Firm sought to sever their trial from all of their co-defendants pursuant to Rules 8(b) and 14(a) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the United States Constitution.
The Government contended that the defendants in this case pursued the common goal of personal gain through fraudulent lawsuits and insurance claims, and that the slammers, especially Garrison, were the “key men” who were involved in and directed illegal activities while the passengers and attorneys exerted individual efforts toward the common goal.
COURT FINDINGS
The Court found that there was an overlap of participants in the alleged schemes of Giles, the King Firm, and the Motta Defendants. Additionally, Giles, the King Firm, and the Motta Defendants allegedly paid their slammers via cash and checks and attempted to conceal the nature of the payments in the same way – by categorizing them as “loans” or “advances” on future settlements.
The Court also found that there was a substantial overlap in facts and participants regarding the filing of fraudulent insurance claims as alleged in count one. The Court concluded that count one alleged that Lawrence and other defendants participated in the same series of acts or transactions constituting an offense, and that she was properly joined as a defendant in count one under Rule 8(b).
Based upon the allegations in the second superseding indictment, the facts underlying the murder charges against Parker and Alfortish substantially overlap with, and stem from, Garrison’s participation in the conspiracy alleged in count one and his covert cooperation with the federal investigation into the staged collision scheme.
The Court found that the conspiracy allegations in count one, including that Garrison was covertly cooperating with a federal investigation into the staged automobile collision scheme, connect Giles, the King Firm, and the Motta Defendants to the allegations against Alfortish and Parker in the murder charges.
The Court also found that Giles, the King Firm, Stalbert, Morgan, and Lawrence will be prejudiced if their fraud and obstruction charges are joined with the murder charges pending against Alfortish and Parker since the Court further found the murder is likely to spillover and prejudice Giles, the King Firm, Stalbert, Morgan, and Lawrence who, the Government admited, have no connection to the murder.
Accordingly, the Court found that Giles, the King Firm, Stalbert, Morgan, and Lawrence carried their burden of proving prejudicial joinder of the murder charges.
CONCLUSION
A court should grant a severance under Rule 14 only if there is a serious risk that a joint trial would compromise a specific trial right of one of the defendants or prevent the jury from making a reliable judgment about guilt or innocence, the Court has determined that this is indeed one of those cases where a joint trial that includes the murder charges in counts nine through thirteen against Alfortish and Parker would do just that.
ZALMA OPINION
Although a massive insurance fraud scheme is serious and will be difficult to defend to attach to the fraud trial of multiple defendants, only two of whom were involved in the murder of Mr. Garrison, would prejudice the fraud defendants. The two defendants will be tried for the murder separately from the multiple defendants who were involved in the fraud, including the two charged with murder. Fraud trials should be as simple and direct as possible and even if the fraud resulted in a murder, the fraud trial should not be poisoned with the murder.
(c) 2025 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
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Post 5418
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