Incarcerated Creepy Porn lawyer Michael Avenatti on Thursday pleaded guilty to several counts of fraud and tax-related charges in a federal court in Orange County, California.
Avenatti has already been convicted twice of embezzling funds from former clients such as Nike and Stormy Daniels.
Avenatti, the liberal media darling, is facing roughly five years in prison for his previous convictions.
Thursday’s charges carry a long prison sentence as well as restitution. The judge still has not determined Avenatti’s sentence in Thursday’s guilty plea.
Avenatti is scheduled to be sentenced on September 19.
CBS News reported:
Avenatti, who had already been convicted in New York of embezzling funds from former client and adult film actress Stormy Daniels, pleaded guilty Thursday to four counts of wire fraud and a single count of tax fraud, admitting he misappropriated funds from multiple clients.
Prosecutors had alleged the Newport Beach attorney defrauded at least five clients of nearly $10 million in settlement funds between January 2015 and March 2019 to save his law firm from bankruptcy, fend off creditors, and spend money on himself.
Avenatti made an open plea in the case, meaning there was no prior agreement with prosecutors on a possible sentence. The charges could mean several years in federal prison and restitution topping $10 million, but U.S. District Judge James Selna will make the final determination on an appropriate sentence. Avenatti is tentatively scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 19.
“After pleading guilty today, Avenatti still faces a total of 31 counts – six wire fraud charges, 18 tax-related charges, two counts of bank fraud related to alleged false statements he made in an attempt to obtain loans from a federally insured financial institution, one count of aggravated identity theft for misusing the name of a tax preparer in relation to the bank fraud scheme, and four counts of bankruptcy fraud related to alleged false statements he made after his law firm was forced into bankruptcy.” the DOJ said.