Crime

Michael Avenatti Charged With... A Whole Bunch MORE Stuff

A new indictment alleges the famed lawyer pilfered from client settlements.

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Michael Avenatti (Photo by Jennifer S. Altman/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

We’re only a few months into 2019, but the 2018 ATL Lawyer of the Year is well on his way to defending his title. After all, the Lawyer of the Year contest here is about the lawyer who best dominates the year’s news, and for all the attention Michael Avenatti received combating Donald Trump to secure last year’s title, this year he may make as many waves defending himself.

Already charged by two different U.S. Attorney’s Offices on claims ranging from the very serious — potentially converting money from clients for personal use — to the less serious (at least as a matter for expending criminal resources) — “he was mean to Nike in a settlement negotiation — Avenatti is now staring down a new 61-page indictment with more claims that he concealed the fact that client settlements had been fully deposited in his trust accounts and then took funds from those settlements for personal use.

This certainly reads as a follow-on to the initial Central District of California filing — as if the first set of charges inspired more people to lodge claims against the former Thinking Like A Lawyer guest. I wonder if the SDNY will charge him with jaywalking later today to pad their ego.

As an aside, guests on Thinking Like A Lawyer include both Michael Avenatti and Gordon Caplan, so we’re on something of a run when it comes to interviewing newsmaking attorneys.

The indictment is very specific regarding the bank transactions that moved settlement funds around, and as any former prosecutor will tell you, bank records are almost always where the government gets someone tripped up.

For his part, Avenatti does not sound concerned.

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As they say, a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich, so Avenatti still has the opportunity to tell his side of the story to a jury. We’ll see how this plays out.

(Full indictment available on the next page.)

Earlier: Michael Avenatti Charged With… A Whole Bunch Of Stuff Out Of Multiple USAOs
The ATL Michael Avenatti Interview
Above The Law’s 2018 Lawyer Of The Year Contest: The Winner!

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HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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