Stormy Daniels' lawyer dropped a cryptic hint about 'large sums of money' he claims flowed out of a Michael Cohen-linked shell company that received millions of dollars after Trump's election

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Michael Cohen.

• Michael Avenatti, the Stormy Daniels attorney who published a damaging report this week showing Michael Cohen ran a shell company that took in millions of dollars from corporate entities after President Donald Trump's election, dropped a cryptic hint about where some of that money may have gone.
• Avenatti, responding to attacks from Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, on Friday, tweeted that Cohen's shell company, Essential Consultants, LLC, paid "large sums of money" to a California-based entity called "Demeter Direct, Inc." State public records show it's linked to someone named Mark S. Ko.
• The public records list Demeter Direct, Inc. as a Korean food retailer, but an archive of the company's website describes it as a business strategy consulting and investment firm.
• An address listed for the company is located inside a high-rise apartment building near downtown Los Angeles.
• Another company name, PK2 Entertainment, is also linked to the Los Angeles address, and to Mark S. Ko.

Michael Avenatti, the Stormy Daniels attorney who published a damaging report this week showing President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, ran a shell company that took in millions of dollars from corporations after Trump's election, hinted on Friday that Cohen paid out "large sums of money" from that shell company, too.

"In 2017-18 - Why was Mr. Cohen paying Demeter Direct Inc. in Los Angeles large sums of money from his Essential Consultants LLC account? Keep attacking me Mr. Giuliani and Fox News. Please.," Avenatti tweeted in response to attacks from Rudy Giuliani, Trump's newest lawyer.

A search of state public records shows that Demeter Direct, Inc. is a California-based entity linked to a person named Mark S. Ko. Documents for the company describe it as a Korean food retailer. but an archive of the company's website shows it as a business strategy, consulting, and investment firm. The website was no longer live as of this writing.

An address listed for Demeter Direct, Inc. is located inside a high-rise apartment building near downtown Los Angeles. Another company name, PK2 Entertainment, is also linked to the Los Angeles address, and to Mark S. Ko.

The apartment is a two-bedroom, two-bath unit that was last sold in 2011 for $420,000. Its current property value is $472,909, according to the Los Angeles County Assessor's office.

A company called Alkatek maintained Demeter Direct, Inc.'s and PK2 Entertainment's websites. It tweeted about the websites in July 2017: "A financial svc biz in #SoCal just signed up for our #DigitalMarketing services. Now that's how you handle #TROPICALSTORMDON! #MAGA."

It was not immediately clear who Mark S. Ko is, what his connection to Cohen, if any, might be, or what Demeter Direct Inc.'s or PK2 Entertainment's business actually entails - or what services Cohen may have paid for. The company's website archive shows Verizon, Sony, FedEx, and Union Bank of California as some of its clients.