Avenatti Indicted on 36 Counts

Michael Avenatti 

Two weeks after federal prosecutors in Los Angeles and New York hit Avenatti with separate criminal complaints, news comes that Avenatti is expected be hit today with a 36-count indictment by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles.
Yes, 36 counts!

The indictment is scheduled to be discussed at a press conference in Los Angeles at 9 a.m. PT

Return to this post for updates.

 -RW

UPDATE 1

Michael Avenatti indicted on 36 counts by California federal grand jury; accused of ripping off mentally ill paraplegic client

UPDATE 2

From U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna at a press conference (via CNBC):

Avenatti’s allegedly criminal conduct spanned four distinct areas, which “are all linked to one another because money generated from one set of crimes appears in other sets – typically in the form of payments to lull victims and to prevent Mr. Avenatti’s financial house of cards from collapsing.”

UPDATE 3

The new, 61-page indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Santa Ana alleges that Avenatti for years hid and then completely spent a $4 million legal settlement obtained in January 2015 in favor of a mentally ill paraplegic client, and hid a $2.75 million settlement for another client that Aventatti allegedly used to help pay for the purchase of a private jet.

UPDATE 4

Most of the money for the paraplegic client allegedly was funnelled to a company that managed Avenatti’s race-car team, and to his coffee company, Global Baristas, which operated the Tully’s chain.