Former New Orleans Personal Injury Attorney Sentenced to 32 Months in Staged Accident Scheme

Published Nov. 6, 2026. Case status is current as of that date.

Federal prosecutors in New Orleans say a personal injury lawyer built cases around crashes that were staged on purpose. On Oct. 16, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana announced that Danny Patrick Keating Jr., 57, of New Orleans, had been sentenced on Oct. 15, 2026, to 32 months in prison for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud [1].

Status: Keating pleaded guilty on June 17, 2021, and has been sentenced. U.S. District Judge Nanette Jolivette Brown also imposed three years of supervised release, $657,405.34 in restitution, and a $100 special assessment [1].

What Keating admitted

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office [1]:

1. Keating, a Louisiana-licensed personal injury attorney, was indicted Nov. 5, 2020, in a conspiracy to stage collisions with tractor-trailers and commercial vehicles around New Orleans. The office says 63 defendants have been charged in the federal probe.
2. At his plea, he admitted he knowingly paid Damian Labeaud for 31 illegally staged tractor-trailer accidents and represented 77 plaintiffs in those crashes.
3. He settled 17 of the 31 staged accidents. The indictment charged that Keating and his clients received about $1.5 million in settlements, and that Keating kept about $358,000 as fees.
4. He admitted filing state and federal lawsuits that misrepresented who was driving, who was at fault, and claimed injuries, and using the U.S. mail to send settlement demands.

The person sentenced

Danny Patrick Keating Jr., 57, New Orleans. Conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 371); 32 months in prison; 3 years supervised release; restitution $657,405.34 [1].

Red flags around accident claims

These are general warning signs, not claims about any client in this case.

• A lawyer who recruits you into a crash claim you did not experience.
• Pressure to sign medical or retainer papers after an unfamiliar introduction.
• Anyone who suggests staging or exaggerating a collision for insurance money.

What to do

• Report suspected insurance fraud to your state insurance department and the insurer.
• File a complaint with your state bar if a lawyer is involved.
• Report fraud at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or ic3.gov.

Case status (as of Nov. 6, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status	Source
Danny Patrick Keating Jr., 57, New Orleans	U.S. District Court, E.D. La. (Judge Nanette Jolivette Brown)	Pleaded guilty June 17, 2021; sentenced Oct. 15, 2026 to 32 months + 3 years supervised release; restitution $657,405.34	[1]

Statuses can change, including through appeal.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Louisiana, "Former New Orleans Personal Injury Attorney Sentenced in Connection with Staged Accident Probe," Oct. 16, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edla/pr/former-new-orleans-personal-injury-attorney-sentenced-connection-staged-accident-probe