First sentence in Louisiana staged accidents: less than 2 years
21 months in prison for minor player in scheme who cooperated with investigators Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves
The first sentence in the Louisiana staged truck accident scandal has been handed down, with a relatively low-level conspirator getting 21 months behind bars for his role.
Mario Solomon was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Eldon Fallon to that term in prison, along with three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution of approximately $71,000 to the victims in the case, though it wasn’t immediately clear who the court would identify as the victims beyond the trucking companies that owned the vehicles that were hit by cars.
Quartet of Louisiana staged accident ‘slammers’ and other participants plead guilty to federal charges Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves
Four individuals indicted earlier this year in the Louisiana staged accident scheme pleaded guilty to federal mail fraud charges Thursday, bringing the total number of guilty pleas in the scandal to 15.
The four individuals pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New Orleans to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, which has been the federal charge used against virtually all the defendants in the case. The defendants who pleaded guilty are Anthony Robinson, 67; Audrey Harris, 53; Jerry Schaffer, 66; and Keishira Robinson, 26, all of New Orleans.