An attorney in New Iberia, LA running for District Court Judge for Division ‘H’ in the 16th Judicial District is under investigation for her alleged role in an auto insurance fraud scheme.
The attorney, Alicia Butler, has been accused by the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board of being involved in a staged vehicle accident ring in 2010.
Both Louisiana State Police and the Special Investigations Unit of State Farm stated that they believe Butler purposefully created traffic accidents to obtain personal injury clients. Authorities said that Butler colluded with a man who would purposefully collide his vehicle with commercial vehicles, allowing Butler to sue over the crashes that were staged to make a profit.
The attorney denied the allegations.
“I had no involvement at all,” Butler told KLFY News 10. “I was investigated. I was never criminally charged in any of that.”
Butler also claimed that it was her brother, who worked for her law firm, who was actually involved in the insurance fraud scheme.
“I was implicated because my brother used my vehicle to stage the accidents,” she said.
The attorney added that her opponent for the district court judge position, Roger Hamilton, was the one who diverted attention into the insurance fraud ring in order to discredit her.
The Louisiana Supreme Court had suspended Butler’s license in 2019, and she is currently under probation until at least 2021 – factors Butler said have nothing to do with the investigation into the insurance fraud scheme and instead related to a “mishandling of a client trust account.”
News 10 reported that Butler will go before the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board for a formal hearing this year.
