Federal Jury Deadlocks on Murder Charges in New Orleans Fraud Scheme Trial

A federal jury in New Orleans spent over 30 hours deliberating a three-week fraud and murder trial before deadlocking on the homicide accusations against Sean Alfortish and Leon “Chunky” Parker, leading Judge Wendy Vitter to declare a mistrial on five murder-related counts. The jury did convict Alfortish of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, obstruction of justice and witness tampering, while acquitting him of another obstruction charge and subornation of perjury.

The unresolved charges revolve around an alleged plot to kill Cornelius Garrison, a federal informant cooperating with the FBI in the massive “Operation Sideswipe” scheme that used staged truck accidents to file false insurance claims. Prosecutors allege Alfortish paid Parker to carry out the killing; both defense lawyers maintain the evidence does not support the allegation. Alfortish now faces a potential 90-year sentence, and Parker, who previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy and mail fraud, could receive up to 60 years if retried on the murder counts. U.S. Attorney David Courcelle called the verdict a step toward justice, while the defense praised the jury’s refusal to convict on the homicide theory.