Michael Avenatti Charged with Stealing Money from Stormy Daniels
Peter D'Abrosca
|
The abrasive attorney who garnered fame by representing adult film actress Stormy Daniels in a case against President Donald J. Trump has now been charged with stealing money from her.
“Attorney Michael Avenatti has been charged with ripping off porn star Stormy Daniels, the client who made him famous,” according to Associated Press. “The allegations against Avenatti were revealed in charges filed Wednesday in New York. Federal prosecutors say Avenatti took money Daniels was supposed to get from a book deal.”
Avenatti, once a frequent guest on cable news networks like CNN and MSNBC who was known for his tough talk and ridicule of Trump, denied the allegations on Twitter.
“No monies relating to Ms. Daniels were ever misappropriated or mishandled. She received millions of dollars worth of legal services and we spent huge sums in expenses. She directly paid only $100.00 for all that she received. I look forward to a jury hearing the evidence,” he said.
Avenatti was recently charged with several felonies related to his dealings with past clients.
Big League Politics reported:
Creepy porn lawyer and known huckster Michael Avenatti has been indicted by a Los Angeles grand jury on 36 charges, ranging from, fraud, embezzlement, and failure to pay taxes, to perjury.
“Avenatti stole millions of dollars from five clients and used a tangled web of shell companies and bank accounts to cover up the theft, the Santa Ana grand jury alleged in an indictment that prosecutors will make public Thursday,” said LA Times.
The attorney, known for his representation of adult film actress Stormy Daniels in a lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump – which he lost – allegedly embezzled a $4 million settlement from a mentally ill paraplegic client named Geoffrey Ernest Johnson. The report said that Avenatti his the money from Johnson for years.
“In 2017, Avenatti received $2.75 million in proceeds from another client’s legal settlement, but concealed that too, the indictment says,” the report said. “The next day, he put $2.5 million of that money into the purchase of a private jet for Passport 420, LLC, a company he effectively owned, according to prosecutors.”
If convicted on all counts, Avenatti faces up to 335 years in prison.
He was previously indicted on four counts extortion for his dealings with Nike corporation, and separately on wire fraud and bank fraud.
Follow Peter D’Abrosca on Twitter: @pdabrosca
Like Peter D’Abrosca on Facebook: facebook.com/peterdabrosca
Preorder Peter D’Abrosca’s Book: “Enemies: The Press vs. The American People”
Share: