Louisiana Woman Pleads Guilty as 43rd Defendant in Staged Automobile Collision Scheme

New Orleans, Louisiana – On Wednesday, November 30, 2022, United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that Florence Randle (“F. Randle”), age 70, of Gibson, Louisiana, pled guilty on November 29, 2022, to Count One of her indictment, charging her with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371. In exchange, the government agreed to dismiss four counts of Mail Fraud, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1341 and 2.

By pleading guilty to Count 1, the offender faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000.00, and a mandatory special assessment charge of $100.00. With today’s guilty plea, the total number of suspects convicted in Operation Sideswipe now stands at 43.

According to court filings, F. Randle acted as an intermediary, recruiting and directing people to engage in staged car accidents with tractor-trailers on May 17, 2017, and June 6, 2017. Passengers in these crashes filed fake claims claiming that the tractor-trailers were to blame. F. Randle and her co-conspirators planned the staged collisions with the help of others, including “slammer” Damian Labeaud and attorney Patrick Keating. The Honorable Jane Triche Milazzo scheduled sentencing for March 1, 2023.

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