A federal grand jury has indicted embattled lawyer Michael Avenatti on “36 counts of fraud, perjury, failure to pay taxes, embezzlement and other financial crimes,” the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

Avenatti is accused of stealing millions of dollars from five clients “using shell companies and bank accounts to cover up the theft,” according to the Santa Ana grand jury indictment .

Among the clients Avenatti allegedly cheated was Geoffrey Ernest Johnson, a mentally ill paraplegic on disability. In 2015, after Johnson won a $4 million lawsuit against Los Angeles County, the money was wired to Avenatti, who kept it for himself, according to the indictment.

After he won another case in 2017, Avenatti allegedly concealed $2.75 million in proceeds from that client’s settlement.

The next day, he put $2.5 million of that money into the purchase of a private jet for Passport 420, LLC, a company he effectively owned, according to prosecutors.

At the time, Avenatti and his businesses owed millions of dollars in back taxes, the government claimed, and his Newport Beach law firm, Eagan Avenatti, was weeks from bankruptcy.

“Michael Avenatti allegedly stole from his clients, and he stole from the IRS,” said Ryan L. Korner, the chief of IRS criminal investigations in Los Angeles. “The money was used to fuel a lavish lifestyle that had no limits, including making mortgage payments on a multimillion-dollar home in Laguna Beach and purchasing a private plane.”

Federal agents seized Avenatti’s private jet at Santa Barbara Airport Wednesday morning after a federal judge issued the warrant. The Honda HA-420 twin-engine plane is worth about $4.5 million, Fox News reported.

“Federal authorities have seized a jet co-owned by Mr. Avenatti pursuant to a seizure warrant issued by a federal judge. This seizure is related to the pending criminal case in Los Angeles,” a federal official said.

Avenatti told Fox News on Wednesday: “I haven’t used the plane in almost a year and I gave up my interest last year. I have no interest in the plane and could care less.” He accused Fox News of “tabloid journalism” in a tweet Wednesday:

Re the “jet seizure” and Fox News’ tabloid journalism – led by moron @ShepNewsTeam: I haven’t used the jet in almost a year and gave up my interest months ago last year. So they have no idea what they are talking about.

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 10, 2019

According to the LA Times, Avenatti is facing 335 years in prison if convicted on all counts of his alleged crimes.

more: https://amgreatness.com/2019/04/11/creepy-porn-lawyer-michael-avenatti-indicted-on-36-charges-feds-seize-4-5-million-plane/