This is brilliant.

Whiteside's former girlfriend had some kind of legal claim against Whiteside, so she hired Michael Avenatti. They reached a confidential settlement under which Whiteside paid $2.75M to Avenatti, from which he was to deduct his fees and disburse the rest to her.

Instead, he kept it all, and doled out small payments to her while claiming Whiteside wasn't paying.

The best part is that when confronted, Avenatti tweets this:

https://thehill.com/homenews/news/439933-avenatti-accused-of-embezzling-15m-from-nba-player-hassan-whiteside-report


"I look forward to ALL of the details coming out regarding Hassan Whiteside’s settlement, the money received by the client, the money deducted for fees and costs, etc. and the reason why he paid the money. I especially look forward to the inquiry by the @NBA and its commissioner," he said on Twitter.

After he allegedly embezzled the money from Whiteside, Avenatti told Gardner he would pay out the money she was owed in monthly installments over eight years, the Times reported.

Avenatti ultimately made 11 payments to Gardner that totaled about $194,000 before the payments stopped in June 2018, prosecutors allege, according to the Times. Avenatti then began deceiving Gardner, claiming that Whiteside was skipping payments, prosecutors say.

Because, yeah, nothing says "confidential settlement" better than one of the lawyers threatening to reveal all of the details on his own.

Michael Avenatti's "The Fight PAC" needs your donations now more than ever.

His first 2019 quarterly filing is bleak:

---

http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00685966/1326566/

Cash on hand at Beginning of Reporting Period 10157.96
Total Receipts 17879.43
Subtotal 28037.39

Total Disbursements 21151.00

Cash on Hand at Close of Reporting Period 6886.39

Debts and Obligations Owed BY the Committee 36224.78

---

As you know, Michael Avenatti is the only "fighter" in the ring. He's said repeatedly that none of the Democratic candidates so far have the determination to fight that he does.

Now, you may have heard that federal prosecutors, the FBI, the IRS, his former coffee business partners, his former law practice partners, his former clients, Nike, a bankruptcy judge, and one of his former two wives, have all teamed up to spread outrageous lies about him.

Even the Federal Election Commission has gotten in on just making up stuff about him:



But, thank goodness ActBlue is still standing by Michael Avenatti, and you can still donate through ActBlue to keep his boat floating (assuming he had a boat, and assuming the feds haven't seized it like they did with his airplane):

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/the-fight-pac-1

Now, I know that when I've posted that link before, DUers have stood up and proudly donated to the only fighter in the ring. I expect no less now that he is in his hour of need.

https://www.axios.com/paul-manafort-special-counsel-mueller-justice-department-c75a84ae-1dc9-45ee-b199-ebaeefd1abad.html

DOJ won't unseal Manafort records due to several "ongoing investigations"

The U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia argued in a court filing Monday that the Washington Post's request to release sealed and redacted records related to Paul Manafort's case should be rejected because of the existence of several "ongoing investigations."

"The redactions at issue were undertaken and approved recently — from December 2018, through March 2019. No material changes have occurred in these past months. Although the Special Counsel has concluded his work, he has also referred a number of matters to other offices. The ongoing investigations that required redactions — many of which were already being conducted by other offices — remain ongoing."

Geoff Johnson was beaten by the LAPD, rendered a paraplegic and obtained a $4M settlement.

His attorney was Michael Avenatti.

He didn't get any of that money, because Avenatti kept lying to him after Avenatti received the money and spent it on race cars and his coffee company.

https://twitter.com/maureenherman/status/1116523710142226437

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/11/712269305/michael-avenatti-indicted-for-allegedly-stealing-paraplegic-clients-settlement-m


According to court documents, prosecutors say Avenatti would occasionally send Client 1 "advance" payments that didn't exceed $1,900. He also allegedly undermined his paraplegic client's attempt to buy a house and jeopardized his Social Security payments by failing to file paperwork.

In an emailed statement, law firm Greenberg Gross LLP identified Client 1 as a man named Geoffrey Johnson.

"Mr. Johnson is the victim of an appalling fraud perpetrated by the one person who owed him loyalty and honesty most of all: his own lawyer," said attorney Josh Robbins. "Mr. Avenatti stole millions of dollars that were meant to compensate Mr. Johnson for a devastating injury, spent it on his own lavish lifestyle, then lied about it to Mr. Johnson for years to cover his tracks. His actions have left Mr. Johnson destitute."

This is what Avenatti had to say for himself:



Now, mind you, Avenatti apparently didn't bother to read the complaint, because the FBI had already been in touch with Johnson, who told them that Avenatti informed him that the money was ready to be paid, but Johnson had to sign one more thing...




Even if you think everyone from his former clients, wife, business partners, and the IRS are all lying, just look at what Avenatti tweeted and ask yourself:

What fucking attorney has a client sign a paper about how "ethical" that attorney is?

This shitheel has clients sign 'testimonials' for his 'marketing/media' efforts, to say he's "ethical". That's not even in dispute.

Jesus.


https://twitter.com/maureenherman/status/1116558720861736962

This is a 257 km one day race. Six hours in the saddle.



Sunday, April 14. If you have NBC Sports, their delayed cable broadcast starts at 2PM Eastern. (also streaming on NBC Sports Gold Cycling Pass start-to-finish starting at 4:55 AM, and full race or at least last kms will likely be somewhere on YouTube days later)

Looks to be mostly sunny (which means dusty), mid 50's, wind 12ish MPH from Northeast.

What is the Paris-Roubaix, and why is it a "big deal":







Recon:

For those who prefer original source materials instead of intermediated information:

.pdf of the indictment:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/press-release/file/1153526/download

https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/attorney-michael-avenatti-named-federal-grand-jury-indictment-accuses-him-stealing

In the case of a victim called Client 1 in the indictment, Avenatti represented the man in a lawsuit against the County of Los Angeles that alleged, among other things, Client 1 became a paraplegic as a result of the county violating his constitutional rights. The county paid a $4 million settlement in January 2015, but within months Avenatti had drained the entire settlement payment from his law firms’ trust account and used portions of the settlement to finance his coffee business or pay personal expenses. Avenatti concealed the receipt of the settlement from Client 1 and instead gave him periodic “advances” of no more than $1,900 and paid the rent for his assisted living facility, according to the indictment.

Client 2 obtained a $3 million settlement in a matter, which included a payment of $2.75 million in early 2017. The indictment alleges that Avenatti took the bulk of this money – $2.5 million – and used it to purchase his portion of a jet, while falsely telling Client 2 that the settlement called for monthly payments over eight years. Avenatti made 11 monthly payments, making them appear to come from the individual who paid the settlement, but then Avenatti allegedly stopped paying Client 2.

Client 3 is the client-victim discussed in the criminal complaint who was to receive a $1.9 million settlement in an intellectual property dispute. Avenatti allegedly embezzled the first installment of $1.6 million in January 2018, in part by providing Client 3 with a bogus settlement agreement indicating that the payment was going to be made two months later. The indictment alleges that Avenatti used the money to pay expenses at his coffee business and to pay his own legal expenses.

Clients 4 and 5 divested shares in a company after Avenatti negotiated a “Common Stock Repurchase Agreement” for the sale of nearly $27.5 million worth of shares and then another sale of approximately $8.15 million worth of shares. When the first payment was made, Avenatti took his fees for the overall $35 million sale and sent the balance to Client 4. But when the second stock sale was finalized and the company sent nearly $8.15 million, Avenatti kept $4 million for himself and used this money to pay some of his law firm’s bankruptcy creditors, including the IRS; to provide funding for his various businesses; and to make lulling payments to Client 1 and Client 2. When Client 4 and Client 5 demanded their money, Avenatti falsely told them that the purloined $4 million already had been wired to them and provided them with a wire transfer confirmation document which actually documented the transfer of an earlier $4 million payment.

It's been a banner week for deadbeat dad Snotty Avenatti. They seized his airplane yesterday, just after the divorce court awarded it to his wife along with other items to satisfy $2M in back child and spousal support he owes her...






Amusingly, they picked up on the fact that his PAC (promoted right here by his DU fan club) is more of a personal piggy bank than a vehicle for political action, and so they included any more money he might put into his pocket from that (which he's done plenty of so far, according to the PAC's FEC filings).

This is in addition to the criminal indictments he already faces in NY and CA, along with civil actions brought by his former partner, and two actions by former clients, all of whom - along with Stormy Daniels - allege that he ripped them off.

But he still has time for "the little people" on Twitter....


https://twitter.com/djbeddy3484/status/1115049146589704192





Can we PLEASE stop idolizing grandstanding lawyers who are more about promoting themselves on TV than pursuing their client's claims where they belong - in court.

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig of Denmark took third in the women's Ronde van Vlaaderen. Even if you don't like racing, you cannot help but love her breakdown of the day's action: