USA v. Avenatti

  1. July 28, 2021

    Avenatti Made Ex-Paralegal 'Scapegoat' In Scheme, Jury Told

    A former Eagan Avenatti LLP paralegal told a California federal jury during the second day of testimony in Michael Avenatti's embezzlement trial Wednesday that the suspended attorney instructed her to lie to a client about the location of settlement funds, making her a "scapegoat."

  2. July 27, 2021

    Avenatti Decided Where Client Funds Went, Ex-Employee Says

    A former paralegal for Eagan Avenatti LLP told the California federal jury in Michael Avenatti's embezzlement trial Tuesday that she handled client billing and money transfers for the firm, but that the suspended attorney decided what happened with the money, including putting it toward paying his ex-wife and his coffee business.

  3. July 23, 2021

    Avenatti Phased Junior Attys Out Of Settlements, Jury Told

    An attorney who worked at Michael Avenatti's former law firm told a California federal jury that it was common for his boss to take over a case once it moved toward settling, including in a lawsuit where the suspended attorney stands accused of stealing millions from a paraplegic client's settlement.

  4. July 22, 2021

    'I Trusted Michael': Ex-Client Says Avenatti Never Paid Him

    One of Michael Avenatti's former clients, who says the suspended attorney helped him win a $4 million settlement after he was paralyzed in a Los Angeles jail, told the California federal jury in Avenatti's embezzlement trial Thursday that he never received his money from the attorney he "trusted with everything."

  5. July 21, 2021

    Avenatti Stole Client Funds To Buy Jet, Pay Bills, Jury Told

    Michael Avenatti violated his clients' trust — and broke federal law — when he stole millions from their settlements to buy a private jet, get his law firm out of bankruptcy and pay his personal bills, federal prosecutors told a California jury Wednesday during opening statements in his embezzlement trial.

  6. July 20, 2021

    Avenatti To Represent Himself In Calif. Embezzlement Trial

    Michael Avenatti, whose law license was suspended after he was convicted of extorting Nike last year, will represent himself at his federal embezzlement trial currently underway in California, his attorney confirmed to Law360 on Tuesday, in a move that's sure to add drama to the high-profile case.

  7. July 19, 2021

    Avenatti Cites Virus Variant's Surge To Urge Calif. Trial Delay

    Amidst jury selection Monday, Michael Avenatti asked a California federal judge to delay his embezzlement trial due to a spike in Delta variant coronavirus cases in Los Angeles, and asked the court to examine what he called "improper and prejudicial" tweets from a former federal prosecutor.

  8. July 14, 2021

    Avenatti Says Potential Calif. Jurors May Have Looked Him Up

    Fresh off his sentencing for trying to extort $25 million from Nike Inc., disgraced attorney Michael Avenatti said the jury pool in his separate California embezzlement trial was tainted Tuesday when prospective jurors were given the chance to use their phones and potentially research him online.

  9. June 28, 2021

    Avenatti's Packed Criminal Calendar Likely Forces Calif. Delay

    A California federal judge said Monday that he'll most likely push back opening statements in Michael Avenatti's upcoming criminal trial on embezzlement charges to July 20, despite prosecutors' objections that the suspended attorney intentionally created a scheduling conflict by asking to delay his sentencing in New York federal court for extorting Nike.

  10. June 22, 2021

    Avenatti Can't Delay Trial Over Gov't Witness' PTSD

    Michael Avenatti's embezzlement trial will begin as planned on July 13, after a California federal judge said Tuesday the celebrity attorney had exaggerated claims that prosecutors waited until the "eleventh hour" to reveal that one of their key witnesses suffers from PTSD.