A New Orleans personal injury attorney has been sentenced to 32 months in federal prison after paying another man to deliberately crash into tractor-trailers, then filing lawsuits seeking compensation for the staged collisions.
Danny Patrick Keating Jr., 57, was involved in 31 staged crashes and represented 77 plaintiffs connected to them. He ultimately settled claims arising from 17 of those collisions.
Keating and his clients collected about $1.5 million in settlements, including roughly $358,000 in attorney’s fees. The lawsuits relied on false accounts of collisions and fraudulent injury claims.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Keating’s sentencing on October 16, 2026. His conviction is part of a larger federal investigation that has resulted in charges against 63 defendants.
Crashes for Cash
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Keating hired Damian Labeaud to orchestrate the collisions, turning deliberately caused crashes into opportunities to pursue insurance settlements.
According to the original federal indictment, Labeaud received $1,000 per passenger for tractor-trailer crashes and $500 per passenger for collisions involving other vehicles.
Keating advanced Labeaud thousands of dollars and expected a certain number of staged crashes in return. Prosecutors described a $17,000 check Keating wrote to himself with a notation indicating it was for advertising. He then used the proceeds to purchase a cashier’s check payable to Labeaud.
The two sometimes discussed collisions before they happened, using coded language and considering different locations, passenger numbers, and ways to avoid police or cameras.
Afterward, Keating filed lawsuits in Louisiana state and federal courts that falsely identified drivers, misrepresented the causes of the collisions, and included fraudulent injury claims. Some clients also gave false testimony during depositions.
Judge Imposes Sentence
Keating pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in June 2021. He subsequently cooperated with federal prosecutors, including testifying against two other personal injury attorneys accused of participating in the staged-crash operation.
Although prosecutors recommended no more than two years in prison because of his cooperation, U.S. District Judge Nanette Jolivette Brown imposed a longer sentence on October 15, 2026. She also ordered Keating to serve three years of supervised release and pay $657,405.34 in restitution.
According to WDSU, Keating surrendered his Louisiana law license.
Investigation Widens
Keating’s cooperation helped prosecutors pursue other attorneys involved in the operation.
In March 2026, a federal jury convicted New Orleans personal injury attorneys Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles of participating in the staged-crash conspiracy following a trial in which Keating testified.
The case also has a connection to the 2020 killing of Cornelius Garrison III, an FBI cooperating witness. In September 2026, Sean Alfortish was convicted of fraud-related offenses, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering. Jurors could not reach verdicts on murder-related charges against Alfortish and Leon Parker, resulting in a mistrial on those counts.
Keating was not charged in Garrison’s killing. Criminal proceedings involving other defendants remain pending.