“Looking ahead to 2020, one reason I’m taking you [Avenatti] seriously as a contender is because of your presence on cable news.”
~Brian Stelter
Creepy porn lawyer and renowned Trump hater, Michael Avenatti was just slapped with a 36-count indictment by a federal grand jury in California that accuses him of ripping off clients — including a mentally ill paraplegic.
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Two weeks ago New York and California prosecutors hit him with serious indictments for tax dodging, bribery, fraud, extortion, and on and on.
THE CASE BRIEFLY
In the New York federal case, Avenatti is accused of trying to extort more than $20 million from Nike by threatening to expose alleged bribery of amateur basketball players and their families unless the company coughed up cash to Avenatti and a client.
One of the clients in California, Geoffrey Ernest Johnson, was a mentally ill paraplegic on disability who won a $4-million settlement of a suit against Los Angeles County. The money was wired to Avenatti in January 2015, but he hid it from Johnson for years, according to the indictment.
In 2017, Avenatti received $2.75 million in proceeds from another client’s legal settlement, but concealed that too, the indictment says. 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. Authorities seized the jet.
About the jet, Avenatti says, “Re the “jet seizure” and Fox News’ tabloid journalism – led by moron @ShepNewsTeam: I haven’t used the jet in almost a year and gave up my interest months ago last year. So they have no idea what they are talking about.”
At the time, Avenatti and his businesses owed millions of dollars in back taxes, the government claimed, and his Newport Beach law firm, Eagan Avenatti, was weeks from bankruptcy.
According to the LA Times, Avenatti faces 335 years in prison.
He is out on $300,000 bond and says he is innocent.
Any claim that any monies due clients were mishandled is bogus nonsense. By way of example only (there are MANY more like this), here is a document Mr. Johnson signed less than a month ago attesting to my ethics and how his case was handled. I look forward to proving my innocence pic.twitter.com/tWL1aIuPy0
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 11, 2019
HOLIER-THAN-THOU DEFENSE
He has taken to sanctimoniousness as a defense as has Jim Comey, the disgraced former FBI director.
I have never agreed more with this than now. #InTheArena pic.twitter.com/KjRbYiRcNr
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 11, 2019
For 20 years, I have represented Davids vs. Goliaths and relied on due process and our system of justice. Along the way, I have made many powerful enemies. I am entitled to a FULL presumption of innocence and am confident that justice will be done once ALL of the facts are known.
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 11, 2019
THE MAN WHO COULD NEVER SHUT UP
Since he’s been out on bail, he has been trying to damage or destroy Nike.
Reposting the below, with a link to SOME of the documents that prove Nike’s bribes of high school players – all in an effort to game the system and make sure the players went to “Nike” colleges. Nike has yet to deny a single claim I have made or argue that any document is bogus. https://t.co/DLOlTb4JGA
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 10, 2019
Reposting the below, with a link to SOME of the documents that prove Nike’s bribes of high school players – all in an effort to game the system and make sure the players went to “Nike” colleges. Nike has yet to deny a single claim I have made or argue that any document is bogus. https://t.co/DLOlTb4JGA
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 10, 2019
The documents I dropped clearly establish @Nike paid illegal bribes to players to go to certain colleges. How can colleges like @DukeU continue to do business with Nike? Do they routinely do business with companies that pay illegal bribes? This is the example they set?
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 9, 2019
