DOJ Announcement And Link To Full pdf Of Avenatti Indictment

[jberryhill]

For those who prefer original source materials instead of intermediated information:

.pdf of the indictment:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/press-release/file/1153526/download

https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/attorney-michael-avenatti-named-federal-grand-jury-indictment-accuses-him-stealing

In the case of a victim called Client 1 in the indictment, Avenatti represented the man in a lawsuit against the County of Los Angeles that alleged, among other things, Client 1 became a paraplegic as a result of the county violating his constitutional rights. The county paid a $4 million settlement in January 2015, but within months Avenatti had drained the entire settlement payment from his law firms’ trust account and used portions of the settlement to finance his coffee business or pay personal expenses. Avenatti concealed the receipt of the settlement from Client 1 and instead gave him periodic “advances” of no more than $1,900 and paid the rent for his assisted living facility, according to the indictment.

Client 2 obtained a $3 million settlement in a matter, which included a payment of $2.75 million in early 2017. The indictment alleges that Avenatti took the bulk of this money – $2.5 million – and used it to purchase his portion of a jet, while falsely telling Client 2 that the settlement called for monthly payments over eight years. Avenatti made 11 monthly payments, making them appear to come from the individual who paid the settlement, but then Avenatti allegedly stopped paying Client 2.

Client 3 is the client-victim discussed in the criminal complaint who was to receive a $1.9 million settlement in an intellectual property dispute. Avenatti allegedly embezzled the first installment of $1.6 million in January 2018, in part by providing Client 3 with a bogus settlement agreement indicating that the payment was going to be made two months later. The indictment alleges that Avenatti used the money to pay expenses at his coffee business and to pay his own legal expenses.

Clients 4 and 5 divested shares in a company after Avenatti negotiated a “Common Stock Repurchase Agreement” for the sale of nearly $27.5 million worth of shares and then another sale of approximately $8.15 million worth of shares. When the first payment was made, Avenatti took his fees for the overall $35 million sale and sent the balance to Client 4. But when the second stock sale was finalized and the company sent nearly $8.15 million, Avenatti kept $4 million for himself and used this money to pay some of his law firm’s bankruptcy creditors, including the IRS; to provide funding for his various businesses; and to make lulling payments to Client 1 and Client 2. When Client 4 and Client 5 demanded their money, Avenatti falsely told them that the purloined $4 million already had been wired to them and provided them with a wire transfer confirmation document which actually documented the transfer of an earlier $4 million payment.

[Bonx]

1. Not very 'Presidential'

[jberryhill]

3. These days? He's definitely presidential material

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. But...but... This is political persecution!

Nobody would have known about Stormy Daniels or Michael Cohen or any of it without Avenatti, who isn't running for president only because Trump-appointed judges and prosecutors are out to get him!

There. I got that out of the way.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Problem is, HE can claim that, and it will have a ring of truth.

All because Trump has contaminated the reputation of the Dept. of Justice.