The former attorney for Stormy Daniels, Michael Avenatti, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in California on 36 counts, including embezzling from a paraplegic, court documents show.
The indictment is a follow up of the criminal complaint filed against Avenatti earlier in California, which includes allegations of impropriety by Avenatti against former business partners and two additional clients.
Avenatti faces charges of wire fraud, failure to college and withhold payroll taxes, attempting to obstruct the IRS, failing to file tax returns, aggravated identity fraud, bank fraud and false testimony under oath during bankruptcy. The new charges follow Avenatti’s arrest in New York last month for allegedly trying to shake down Nike for up to $25 million and on two counts of wire and bank fraud from Southern California, where his firm is based. Avenatti has said he expects to be cleared.
The attorney is best known for representing porn actress Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against President Donald Trump. Avenatti became one of Trump’s leading adversaries, attacking him on cable news programs and Twitter. At one point, Avenatti even considered challenging Trump in 2020.
Editorial credit: JStone / Shutterstock.com