California judge U.S. District Judge James V. Selna declared a mistrial Tuesday in the embezzlement trial of attorney Michael Avenatti. Avenatti was charged with stealing millions in settlement money from his clients. The judge ruled that federal prosecutors failed to turn over relevant financial evidence to Avenatti, resulting in a mistrial.
Avenatti was sentenced in July to 2 1/2 years in prison in a $25 million extortion case in New York.
Avenatti was accused by Federal prosecutors of extorting five clients he worked with of $10 million for funneling settlements that were negotiated and lying about the funds negotiated. He funneled payments to account he was in control of.
Crimes of Avenatti include the following:
Sentenced in July to 2 1/2 years in prison in a $25 million extortion case in New York.
$4 million collected in Los Angeles County for a client who suffered injuries in custody and was left paraplegic after a suicide attempt. Avenatti paid out much smaller amounts that he told the man they were advances.
Avenatti was charged with cheating Daniels out of a few hundred thousand dollars when he represented her in 2018 in lawsuits against former President Trump.
