The lawyer stole $ 300 thousand from an actress who claimed she had a relationship with Trump

Federal Prosecutor's Office 22 May filed charges against senior lawyer Michael Avenatti, saying that a frequent critic of the White House stole nearly 300 000 dollars from his former client, Stormy Daniels.

Photo: instagram.com/thestormydaniels

According to investigators, Daniels was supposed to receive money from the deal with her book, and Avenatti allegedly used a “fraudulent document to convince her client’s literary agent to transfer money owed to Avenatti’s client to an account controlled by Avenatti,” NBC News.

The official investigation documents do not say who became the lawyer’s victim; the victim is referred to as “Victim-1.” However, a senior federal law enforcement official told NBC News that "Victim 1" who was allegedly defrauded by Avenatti is Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels.

According to the indictment, the publisher gave the money to agent Daniels, the former adult film star should have received two payments in the amount of 148 750 dollars. But, according to court documents, Avenatti sent money to the accounts he controls, not his client.

Prosecutors found that Avenatti generously spent the stolen money, including the acquisition of Ferrari.

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“Michael Avenatti abused and violated the fundamental duty of a lawyer—the duty to his client,” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman for the Southern District of New York said in a statement.

He explained that Avenatti used the trust of a client to steal an advance on her book deal.

The lawyer quickly responded to all these allegations, stating on Twitter: “No cash associated with Ms. Daniels has ever been misappropriated or misused. She got legal services for millions of dollars, and we incurred huge expenses. She paid all 100 dollars directly for everything she received. I look forward to hearing this case. ”

During the summer, autumn, and winter of 2018, Daniels repeatedly asked Avenatti about the book money she was supposed to receive, and the lawyer allegedly replied that he had pressured the publisher to pay off the debt.

But in fact, the publisher had already paid Daniels' literary agent, who then funneled the money to Avenatti—at the lawyer's unlawful direction, the indictment says.

“When is this publisher going to pay my money?” Daniels asked Avenatti on December 5, 2018.

Avenatti, knowing that he received money from agent Daniels, allegedly told his client that he was threatening to sue the publisher.

“As for the publisher, I’m working with him and threatening legal action. They should pay you the money because you fulfilled your part of the deal,” the lawyer allegedly replied to his client.

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Avenatti was subjected to two charges of fraud with Daniels: one for fraud using electronic means and the other for theft of personal data under aggravating circumstances.

As a result, the lawyer paid Daniels the first payment of the publisher in the amount of 148 750 dollars, but she did not wait for the second, according to the prosecution.

“I intend to fight these bogus/legally unsubstantiated charges and plead not guilty. I look forward to the trial when I can clear my name,” Avenatti wrote on Twitter.

Avenatti is known for representing Daniels, who claimed she had an affair with President Donald Trump in 2006 year, long before he ran for the presidency of the United States. They stopped talking in March. The actress said that she thought that with a lawyer "something was wrong", so she asked her new lawyer to review all transactions in which she was previously involved.

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Recall, according to media reports, in 2016, when Donald Trump’s election campaign was in full swing, Stormy Daniels allegedly received 130 thousand dollars for silence intimate with US presidential candidate Donald Trump. Lawyer Michael Cohen confirmed that the money was paid to the actress by him personally and privately, but the fact of her relationship with Trump Cohen denied, like the American president himself.

Ранее CNN reported that the lie detector test confirmed the truthfulness of the words of the former porn actress Stormy Daniels about her unprotected sexual contact with the president in 2006.

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