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Listen Now— Over My Dead Body: Operation Sideswipe

October 26, 2026 • 6m

Summary

⏱️ 6 min read

Overview

This episode tells the story of trucker Jamie Maurice who was involved in what seemed like a staged accident on the I-10 in New Orleans in 2017. After being sideswiped by a pickup truck and receiving a ticket despite suspecting something was wrong, Jamie's instincts proved correct. The incident was part of a larger insurance fraud scheme involving multiple staged accidents targeting truck drivers, orchestrated by personal injury lawyer Vanessa Moda, a former Hollywood stuntwoman who had worked on films like Friday the 13th and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

The Suspicious Accident on the I-10

On a sunny November afternoon in 2017, trucker Jamie Maurice was hauling 80,000 pounds of plastics materials in New Orleans when something strange happened. As he merged onto the I-10 freeway after checking his mirrors and finding the lane clear, a pickup truck seemingly appeared out of nowhere and slammed into his trailer. Despite the severity of the collision that scraped and dented the entire side of the pickup, the driver's reaction seemed oddly calm and insincere, immediately raising Jamie's suspicions that something wasn't right.

  • Jamie Maurice was a trucker from Long Beach, Mississippi, making his regular route three times a day through New Orleans
  • While merging onto I-10 after checking his mirrors and seeing the lane was clear, Jamie felt his truck hit something
  • A pickup truck appeared with its front tire rubbing against the trailer, causing significant damage to the entire right side of the vehicle
  • Despite the major collision, none of the passengers appeared injured - nobody limped or fell to the ground
" When I got halfway in the lane, I felt the truck hit something. I look in my side view mirror and there was a truck with its front tire rubbing up against the trailer, kind of bouncing. "
" It didn't look sincere, like how upset you would get if somebody hit your car. I'd get pretty upset. But he looked like he was faking it. "

The Broader Criminal Enterprise

This opening episode introduces what would become a much larger investigation into an organized insurance fraud ring. The staged accidents weren't just about minor insurance payouts - the scheme involved betrayal, exploitation of vulnerable people willing to participate in the crashes, and ultimately escalated to murder. The story sets up a complex criminal operation that went far beyond simple fraud, revealing how Moda's unique skills and legal knowledge enabled her to orchestrate an elaborate con with devastating real-world consequences.

  • The scheme involved fake car crashes but had very real consequences for victims
  • The operation led to betrayal, exploitation of participants, and ultimately murder
  • This story comes from the podcast Over My Dead Body, Operation Sideswipe
" This is a story about fake car crashes with real consequences and a scheme that led to betrayal, exploitation, and murder. "

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