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Michael Avenatti, a celebrity lawyer with critics, has been accused of hijacking nearly $ 2 million after hitting a lucrative settlement for former NBA player friend Hassan Whiteside.
Avenatti, lawyer Alexis Gardner, 27, has negotiated a $ 3 million deal for the actress and barista, including $ 2.75 million, including Whiteside, 29, of Miami Heat and connected to a trust account established by Avenatti in January 2017, according to the bank records. and an indictment pronounced on April 10 by a grand jury based in California.
Avenatti was entitled to $ 1 million in legal fees, but he did not inform Gardner of the payment and did not submit the terms of his contract with Whiteside, prosecutors said in the indictment. Instead, he transferred $ 2.5 million to the bank account of a partner-owned law firm so he could buy a share of a small private jet.
Avenatti told Gardner that Whiteside's first payment was for legal fees, but that it would receive monthly payments over eight years. He made 11 transfers to Gardner, totaling $ 194,000, before the money stopped in June 2018.
Although Whiteside and Gardner confirmed the settlement in a statement, Avenatti rebuffed the charges that he had acted unlawfully or improperly.
Read more from the Washington Examiner.
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