Stormy Daniels' former lawyer Michael Avenatti has been arrested and accused of money laundering while awaiting trial on fraud charges

Reuters

Attorney Michael Avenatti exits the United States Courthouse in the Manhattan borough of New York

• Attorney Michael Avenatti has been arrested in California and could face additional money laundering and fraud charges while awaiting three separate federal criminal trials on charges of financial fraud and extortion.
• Citing federal court documents, the Los Angeles Times reported on January 15 that the alleged pretrial violations included laundering money to fraudulently conceal $1 million from his ex-wife.
• Avenatti is currently awaiting trial in three criminal cases based out of New York and California, including his alleged extortion of Nike.
• Federal prosecutors told the Los Angeles Times that they are looking to revoke Avenatti's bail as he remains in custody in California.
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Attorney Michael Avenatti has been arrested in California and could face additional money laundering and fraud charges while awaiting three separate federal criminal trials on charges of financial fraud and extortion.

On January 14, federal prosecutors in California announced that IRS agents had arrested Avenatti for violating the conditions of his pre-trial release, but did not specify what those violations entailed. Avenatti was arrested while attending a hearing in which the California State Bar sought to disbar him while awaiting trial.

Citing federal court documents, the Los Angeles Times reported on January 15 that the alleged pretrial violations included laundering money to fraudulently conceal $1 million from his ex-wife and others to whom he owed debts after his initial arrest in March of 2019.

Avenatti, a former high-profile celebrity lawyer who most famously represented porn star Stormy Daniels in her legal disputes against President Donald Trump, saw a stunning fall from grace in 2019 as his legal problems mounted.

On March 25, 2019, New York federal prosecutors charged Avenatti with attempting to extort more than $20 million from Nike, alleging he tried to get the money by "threatening to use his ability to garner publicity to inflict substantial financial & reputational harm on the company if his demands were not met."

Prosecutors alleged that Avenatti threatened to publicly accuse Nike of participating in a college basketball bribery scandal unless they spent a hefty amount of money to hire him and another attorney to conduct an internal investigation of Nike or settle with their client.

A few weeks later in April of 2019, Avenatti was charged by a grand jury in the Central District of California on a slew of financial crimes in a blockbuster 36-count indictment, including 10 counts of wire fraud related to the alleged embezzlement of his clients' money, 19 counts of tax fraud, four counts of bankruptcy fraud, and two counts of bank fraud.

Then, in late May of 2019, federal prosecutors in New York further charged Avenatti with identity theft and defrauding his famous client Stormy Daniels out of $300,000. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Federal prosecutors told the Los Angeles Times that they are looking to revoke Avenatti's bail as he remains in custody in California.

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