A New Orleans personal injury attorney has been sentenced to 32 months in federal prison for helping stage 31 tractor-trailer crashes and turning them into fraudulent injury claims.

Danny Patrick Keating Jr., 57, was sentenced on October 15, 2026, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. The Justice Department said Keating paid Damian Labeaud to arrange staged collisions and represented 77 plaintiffs connected to the scheme.

Payments tied to staged collisions

According to court records cited by the Justice Department, Labeaud referred staged crashes to Keating and other attorneys using a set fee structure. The rate was $1,000 per passenger when a tractor-trailer was involved and $500 per passenger for crashes without one.

Keating also advanced thousands of dollars to Labeaud. Authorities said Keating then calculated how many staged crashes Labeaud would need to arrange to account for the money already provided.

In September 2017, Keating wrote a $17,000 check to himself for advertising expenses and used the funds to obtain a cashier’s check payable to Labeaud, according to the government’s account.

How the crashes were arranged

Labeaud admitted that he acted as the driver who intentionally struck tractor-trailers in two collisions in June 2017. After the crashes, a person described as a “spotter” would pick him up and leave the scene, while other occupants remained behind to pursue injury claims.

The Justice Department said the deception continued after the collisions. Keating admitted filing lawsuits in Louisiana state and federal courts that included inaccurate information about who was driving, who caused the crashes and what injuries had occurred. Plaintiffs also provided false testimony during depositions in multiple cases.

Settlements and restitution

Seventeen of the 31 staged collisions resulted in settlements that produced actual payouts. Keating and his clients received approximately $1.5 million, while Keating retained about $358,000 in attorney fees.

The figures represented only Keating’s portion of a broader investigation. The Justice Department said approximately 63 people had been charged in connection with the overall scheme.

Keating pleaded guilty in June 2021, more than five years before his sentencing. In addition to the prison term, he received three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $657,405.34 in restitution.