Supreme Court leaves in place Avenatti conviction for plotting to extort up to $25M from Nike
Read full article: Supreme Court leaves in place Avenatti conviction for plotting to extort up to $25M from NikeThe Supreme Court has left in place lawyer Michael Avenatti’s conviction for plotting to extort up to $25 million from Nike.
Court upholds Michael Avenatti's conviction for plotting to extort up to $25 million from Nike
Read full article: Court upholds Michael Avenatti's conviction for plotting to extort up to $25 million from NikeA federal appeals court has upheld disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti’s conviction for plotting to extort up to $25 million from shoe giant Nike – one of several legal messes that have landed him behind bars.
Who’s who in the Manhattan DA’s Donald Trump indictment
Read full article: Who’s who in the Manhattan DA’s Donald Trump indictmentAs Donald Trump fought his way to victory in the 2016 presidential campaign, key allies tried to smooth his bumpy path by paying off two women who had been thinking of going public with allegations of extramarital encounters with the Republican.
Avenatti pleads guilty to fraud, tax charges in California
Read full article: Avenatti pleads guilty to fraud, tax charges in CaliforniaIncarcerated lawyer Michael Avenatti has pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud and a tax-related charge in a Southern California federal court case accusing him of cheating his clients out of millions of dollars.
Avenatti gets 4 years in prison for cheating Stormy Daniels
Read full article: Avenatti gets 4 years in prison for cheating Stormy DanielsMichael Avenatti has been sentenced to four years in prison for cheating Stormy Daniels out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in book proceeds at the height of his famed clash with then-President Donald Trump.
In trial closing, prosecutor says lies caught up to Avenatti
Read full article: In trial closing, prosecutor says lies caught up to AvenattiA prosecutor has said in closing arguments that California lawyer Michael Avenatti told repeated lies to porn actor Stormy Daniels in 2018 to hide his theft of her book proceeds.
Avenatti wavers on testifying in trial vs. Stormy Daniels
Read full article: Avenatti wavers on testifying in trial vs. Stormy DanielsMichael Avenatti has wavered on whether he plans to take the witness stand in his own defense at a fraud trial in which he is accused of stealing $300,000 in book proceeds from porn actor Stormy Daniels.
Avenatti cast as both thief, generous lawyer at NYC trial
Read full article: Avenatti cast as both thief, generous lawyer at NYC trialA prosecutor has told a jury in an opening statement that California lawyer Michael Avenatti stole nearly $300,000 in book proceeds from porn star Stormy Daniels while a defense lawyer says it's not true.
Once allies, Stormy Daniels and Avenatti face off at trial
Read full article: Once allies, Stormy Daniels and Avenatti face off at trialThe porn star who catapulted Michael Avenatti to fame four years ago will get a starring role in a New York courtroom when prosecutors try to prove the California lawyer cheated her of $300,000 in book proceeds.
Jury selection proceeds for Avenatti-Stormy Daniels trial
Read full article: Jury selection proceeds for Avenatti-Stormy Daniels trialMichael Avenatti, the once high-profile California attorney who regularly taunted then-President Donald Trump, was introduced to prospective jurors who will decide whether he cheated porn star Stormy Daniels out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Avenatti likely to testify at trial over Stormy Daniels deal
Read full article: Avenatti likely to testify at trial over Stormy Daniels dealLawyers for Michael Avenatti say there is a strong likelihood that the once high-flying California attorney will testify at a New York trial where he is accused of swindling porn star Stormy Daniels out of a book deal's proceeds.
R. Kelly's life, from troubled talent to trafficking trial
Read full article: R. Kelly's life, from troubled talent to trafficking trialR. Kelly grew up in Chicago's housing projects and went on to have an illustrious musical career increasingly clouded by allegations of lurid behavior and sexual abuse.
Mistrial in Michael Avenatti's California embezzlement case
Read full article: Mistrial in Michael Avenatti's California embezzlement caseA California judge has declared a mistrial in the embezzlement trial of attorney Michael Avenatti, who is charged with stealing millions in settlement money from his clients.
Michael Avenatti denies embezzlement charges in California
Read full article: Michael Avenatti denies embezzlement charges in CaliforniaLawyer Michael Avenatti is charged with embezzling millions of dollars from his clients and says at his trial in California that he “gave people who had no chance a fighting chance.”.
Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen, once foes, talk Trump
Read full article: Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen, once foes, talk TrumpWhen Donald Trump left the White House in January 2021, he remained "Individual-1" in the federal campaign finance crimes case against his former attorney, Michael Cohen. The prosecution stemmed from six-figure payments Cohen arranged to Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, to keep them quiet during the campaign about alleged affairs with Trump. Federal prosecutors charged Cohen with skirting campaign contribution rules by arranging the hush-money payment to Daniels and a similar payment to Playboy model Karen McDougal. Cohen and Daniels are united not only in infamy but deep regret over Trump. “I’ve been face to face with evil in the most intimate way,” Daniels said.
Michael Avenatti is convicted of trying to extort Nike
Read full article: Michael Avenatti is convicted of trying to extort NikeFILE - In this July 23, 2019, file photo, California attorney Michael Avenatti walks from a courthouse in New York, after facing charges. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)NEW YORK, N.Y. – Michael Avenatti, the combative lawyer who gained fame by representing porn star Stormy Daniels in lawsuits involving President Donald Trump, was convicted Friday of trying to extort sportswear giant Nike. “Michael Avenatti has been a fighter his entire life. “Michael Avenatti is a D-list attorney but a Grade-A scumbag,” Sasse said in a release. In the end, Michael Avenatti wasn’t a real attorney, he just played one on TV.”Many of Avenatti's television appearances occurred while he was representing Daniels and after the arrest of Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.
Tapes of Avenatti threats highlight extortion trial closings
Read full article: Tapes of Avenatti threats highlight extortion trial closingsNot guilty,” Srebnick told Manhattan federal court jurors of the meeting Avenatti had last March with Nike attorneys. Howard Srebnick told jurors that Avenatti was “on a mission” for his clients when he met with Nike's lawyers. In his closing, Podolsky said Avenatti was looking out for himself and his financial needs rather than his client, Gary Franklin, a Los Angeles amateur basketball coach. “Michael Avenatti, facing a mountain of debt, saw light at the end of the tunnel,” Podolsky said. On one recorded conversation played for jurors, Avenatti could be heard telling Nike lawyers: “A few million dollars doesn't move the needle for me.
Avenatti's request to limit his testimony rejected by judge
Read full article: Avenatti's request to limit his testimony rejected by judgeFILE - In this Dec. 17, 2019, file photo, California attorney Michael Avenatti arrives at federal court in New York. The judge also ruled in favor of prosecutors on two other major subjects the defense had argued to exclude if Avenatti testified. Gardephe said he would let prosecutors question Avenatti about his finances, except for references to spousal and child support. The judge also rejected a request by the defense to call as witnesses several Nike employees or lawyers and an attorney who works with Mark Geragos, a lawyer who participated with Avenatti in some discussions with Nike prior to Avenatti's March 2019 arrest. Once a regular guest on cable television programs, Avenatti has been housed for weeks at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan after Los Angeles prosecutors alleged he violated his bail conditions.
Prosecutor: Michael Avenatti saw dollar signs in Nike fraud
Read full article: Prosecutor: Michael Avenatti saw dollar signs in Nike fraudBut what Avenatti said and how he said it in his representation of an amateur California basketball coach who was mad at Nike, “that's not extortion,” Srebnick insisted. His eyes canvas a courtroom as large as a basketball gymnasium, settling on jurors, journalists, lawyers and spectators. When the first witness — attorney Scott Wilson — was asked to identify Avenatti in the courtroom, Avenatti sprang to his feet before Wilson could point him out. “When he looked at the coach, he did not see a client to help," the prosecutor said. “He saw dollar signs for himself.”Srebnick told jurors that Avenatti's negotiations with Nike were “not extortion” but were the enthusiastic representation of a coach whose league of 40 teams in California was being sabotaged by Nike withdrawing its annual $72,000 sponsorship.
California bar: Avenatti stole from client using ‘deceit’
Read full article: California bar: Avenatti stole from client using ‘deceit’The bar is seeking to put Avenatti on involuntary inactive status, and Morgenstern said it is likely he will eventually be disbarred. “Nothing Mr. Avenatti says changes the fact that he appears to have falsified the payment dates in Mr. Barela’s settlement agreement and stolen his settlement money,” attorney Steven Bledsoe said. “It appears Mr. Avenatti loaned the client’s own money to the client,” Hanna said. “Money that Mr. Avenatti had already secretly collected.”Avenatti has previously denied stiffing Barela, saying all the funds were accounted for. If the bar prevails, Avenatti will effectively be suspended from practicing while it seeks his future disbarment.