World News
Federal jury splits verdict in New Orleans staged-crash fraud and murder trial
Jurors convicted Sean Alfortish of fraud charges but deadlocked on murder counts tied to the killing of an FBI informant.
The short version
- A New Orleans federal jury convicted Sean Alfortish of multiple fraud-related charges after a three-week trial.
- Jurors deadlocked on five murder counts against Alfortish and co-defendant Leon Parker, prompting the judge to declare a mistrial on those charges.
- Federal prosecutors announced they plan to retry the defendants on the deadlocked murder-related counts.
Key facts
- Sean Alfortish was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering, while being acquitted of subornation of perjury and one obstruction count.[The Guardian]
- U.S. District Judge Wendy Vitter declared a mistrial on five murder-related counts after the jury deadlocked following more than 30 hours of deliberations.[The Guardian]
- The murder allegations involve the death of Cornelius Garrison, who prosecutors stated was an informant cooperating with the FBI regarding a staged-truck-crash insurance fraud scheme.[The Guardian]
- Alfortish faces up to 90 years in prison on his convictions, while Leon Parker, who previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy and mail fraud counts, faces up to 60 years.[The Guardian]
- The broader investigation, known as Operation Sideswipe, has resulted in convictions for more than 63 individuals tied to staged collisions with commercial trucks.[The Guardian]
What remains uncertain
- The schedule and specific timeline for the federal retrial on the five deadlocked murder-related charges have not been established.[The Guardian]