We routinely represent taxpayers in civil and criminal tax cases. We wanted to let everyone know that IRS agents arrested embattled attorney Michael Avenatti in Los Angeles late Tuesday during a break in a hearing before the California State Bar, the U.S. attorney’s office confirmed , saying he allegedly violated the terms of his pretrial release on charges he embezzled client funds.
Michael Avenatti, famous for representing Adult Actress Stormy Daniels and had been positioning himself for a run for President, was arrested Tuesday, cutting short a hearing on whether his law license should be suspended while the California State Bar investigates disciplinary charges.
The hearing was on whether Avenatti’s law license should be suspended while the State Bar investigates disciplinary charges connected to allegations he stole a former client’s $1.6 million settlement payment. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California told the media that IRS agents arrested Avenatti for allegedly violating the terms of his pretrial release in the embezzlement case that is pending in California federal court. The documents related to the alleged violation are under seal, the spokesman said. Avenatti’s arrest comes the same day the attorney lost his bid to delay his upcoming trial in New York federal court on criminal charges he plotted to extort millions of dollars from Nike Inc. He is slated to go to trial Jan. 21. Tuesday’s proceedings at the State Bar were a continuation of a hearing from December to determine whether Avenatti’s law license should be suspended while the bar investigates bringing disciplinary charges in relation to accusations that he embezzled a $1.6 million settlement payment to his former client, Gregory Barela Jr. The California State Bar hearing was paused for nearly two hours on Tuesday while Avenatti attended the hearing in New York by telephone. After Avenatti finished that call, he took the stand in Los Angeles to testify that he has a hazy recollection of the details of the settlement agreement he negotiated on Barela’s behalf in an intellectual property dispute.
If you or someone you know has a criminal tax issue, or was victimized by Attorney Avenatti, please contact us at (203) 285-8545 or by email at egreen@gs-lawfirm.com.
Eric L. Green, Esq.
Green & Sklarz LLC
One Audubon Street, 3rd Floor
New Haven, CT 06511
Ph. (203) 285-8545
Fax (203) 286-1311
