Ashley McGowan, Staged Automobile Accident Scheme, Louisiana 2024

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – A 35-year-old New Orleans woman has been charged in connection with a staged automobile accident scheme. Ashley McGowan, 35, is one of seven defendants charged in a four-count federal indictment with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud.

According to the indictment, McGowan and six others conspired to stage automobile accidents with tractor-trailers in order to defraud trucking and insurance companies. The scheme involved intentionally colliding with tractor-trailers and then lying in depositions to falsely claim that someone else was driving the car at the time of the collision.

The indictment alleges that McGowan was involved in two incidents, one on June 8, 2016, and another on June 28, 2017. In the first incident, McGowan conspired with others to intentionally collide with a tractor-trailer and then lied in depositions about who was driving the car. In the second incident, McGowan was not driving, but was allegedly involved in the scheme.

McGowan and the six other defendants, Lertrice Johnson, 45, Davienque Johnson, 27, Herbert Allen, 36, Troylynn Brown, 34, Dion Ridley, 22, and Jarvis Brown, 29, face a maximum penalty of five years for conspiracy and 20 years for mail fraud. They also face a fine of up to $250,000 and a mandatory $100 special assessment cost for each count of conviction.

U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced the indictment, which brings the total number of defendants charged in this federal probe to 40. The defendants will be required to appear before a U.S. Magistrate Judge for an initial appearance and arraignment on the indictment.

The indictment alleges that the defendants were treated by doctors and healthcare providers at the direction of their attorneys and secured settlements from the insurance companies who insured the commercial carriers. The scheme involved payments to the defendants for referring them to attorneys who would handle their cases.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Bryan Whittenberger is prosecuting the case.

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