44th Defendant in Staged Automobile Collision Scheme Pleads Guilty and Faces Prison Time and a Fine

New Orleans, Louisiana – Troylynn Brown, a 35-year-old resident of Louisiana, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in relation to a staged car accident. As part of her plea agreement, Brown admitted to colluding with others to intentionally collide a Chevrolet Impala with a tractor-trailer on June 28, 2017, in New Orleans, Louisiana, and then lying during a civil deposition about who was behind the wheel. Brown faces a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment, a term of supervised release of up to three years, and a fine of up to $250,000, as well as a mandatory special assessment fee of $100. The sentencing for this case is scheduled for March 29, 2022.

On Friday, December 16, 2022, United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that Troylynn Brown (“Brown”), age 35, agreed to plead guilty on December 14, 2022, to count one of her indictment, charging Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371. In pleading guilty, the defendant faces a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment; a term of supervised release of up to three years; and a fine of up to $250,000.00, or the greater of twice the gross gain to the defendant or twice the gross loss to any person under Title 18, United States Code, Section 3571, as well as a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00. Today’s guilty plea brings the total number of defendants convicted in Operation Sideswipe to forty-four.

As part of her plea agreement, Brown admitted to conspiring to commit mail fraud in relation to a staged car accident. The evidence presented by the government revealed that the defendant conspired with Roderick Hickman (“Hickman”), Herbert Allen (“Allen”), and others to intentionally collide Allen’s Chevrolet Impala with a tractor-trailer on June 28, 2017, in New Orleans, Louisiana in the vicinity of Tchoupitoulas Street and Calliope. Later, Brown lied during her civil deposition. She falsely stated that Allen was at the wheel of the vehicle that collided with the tractor-trailer, while in fact, Hickman was behind the wheel and purposely struck the tractor-trailer.

This case’s sentencing is scheduled for March 29, 2022, before United States District Judge Sarah S. Vance.

The United States Attorney’s Office would like to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Louisiana State Police, and the Metropolitan Crime Commission for their help with this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon S. Long, Brian M. Klebba, Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria M. Carboni, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Rivera are prosecuting this case.