{"id":51528,"date":"2022-12-05T18:00:27","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T02:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51528"},"modified":"2022-12-05T18:00:27","modified_gmt":"2022-12-06T02:00:27","slug":"lawyer-michael-avenatti-sentenced-to-14-years-in-federal-prison-for-stealing-millions-of-dollars-from-clients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51528","title":{"rendered":"Lawyer Michael Avenatti Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Stealing Millions of Dollars from Clients"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">\u00a0\u00a0<strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<i>SANTA ANA, California<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">\u00a0A federal judge sentenced lawyer Michael John Avenatti on Monday to 14 years in prison<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"> for stealing millions of dollars from his clients, officials stated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">One client was a paraplegic with mental health issues.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Avenatti was also found guilty of obstructing the IRS\u2019s efforts to collect more than $3 million in payroll taxes from an Avenatti-owned coffee business.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_uxeFVAwEXk\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 U.S. District Judge James V. Selna said Avenatti \u201chas done great evil for which he must answer.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Avenatti, 51, a former Newport Beach resident now in federal custody.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In imposing the 14-year sentence, Judge Selna ordered that this term of imprisonment run consecutive to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-sdny\/pr\/michael-avenatti-sentenced-48-months-prison-identity-theft-and-defrauding-former-client\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">sentences totaling five years<\/a><span class=\"yiv3877239314MsoHyperlink\">\u00a0previously\u00a0<\/span>imposed in two federal cases in the Southern District of New York.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Judge Selna also ordered Avenatti to pay $10.8 million as restitution to four clients and the IRS.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Monday\u2019s sentencing follows Avenatti\u2019s entry of guilty pleas on June 16 to four counts of wire fraud and one count of endeavoring to obstruct the administration of the Internal Revenue Code. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">He has been a federal prisoner since on February 7, soon after he was ordered to begin serving a sentence in one of the New York cases.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9oAnUZ1tTHo\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMichael Avenatti was a corrupt lawyer who claimed he was fighting for the little guy. In fact, he only cared about his own selfish interests,\u201d said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. \u201cHe stole millions of dollars from his clients \u2013 all to finance his extravagant lifestyle that included a private jet and race cars. As a result of his illegal acts, he has lost his right to practice law in California, and now he will serve a richly deserved prison sentence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMichael Avenatti violated the trust placed in him by his clients. Instead of helping his clients receive the compensation that they were owed and needed, he pocketed the money, stealing from people who were already hurting. The money was used to fuel a lavish lifestyle that had no limits,\u201d stated Tyler Hatcher, the Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation\u2019s Los Angeles Field Office.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<b><i><u>The Wire Fraud Counts<\/u><\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Avenatti received money on behalf of clients into client trust accounts, misappropriated the money, and then lied to the clients about receiving the money or, in one case, claimed that the money had already been sent to the client. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">The four clients suffered actual losses totaling approximately $7.6 million.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAlthough the details pertaining to each of the four clients underlying the charges in the indictment differ, the general pattern was the same,\u201d according to a sentencing memorandum filed by prosecutors. \u201c[Avenatti] would lie about the true terms of the settlement agreement he had negotiated for the client, conceal the settlement payments that the counterparty had made, secretly take and spend the settlement proceeds that belonged to the client, and lull the client into not complaining or investigating further by providing small \u2018advances\u2019 on the supposedly yet-to-be paid funds.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 According to court documents:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: center;\" type=\"disc\">\n<li class=\"yiv3877239314MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">In the case of Geoffrey Johnson, Avenatti represented Johnson in a lawsuit against the County of Los Angeles that alleged, among other things, Johnson became a paraplegic as a result of the county violating his constitutional rights.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"> The county paid a $4 million settlement in January 2015, but within months Avenatti had drained the entire settlement payment from his law firm\u2019s trust account and used portions of the settlement to finance his coffee business and pay personal expenses. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Avenatti never told Johnson about the settlement agreement and terms, and he concealed from Johnson the receipt of the settlement payment from the county. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Instead of giving Johnson his portion of the settlement, Avenatti gave Johnson periodic \u201cadvances\u201d of no more than $1,900 and paid the rent for his assisted living facility to falsely reassure him that Avenatti was continuing to work on his behalf.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"yiv3877239314MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Alexis Gardner obtained a $3 million settlement, including a payment of $2.75 million in early 2017. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"yiv3877239314MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Avenatti never provided a copy of the settlement agreement to Gardner or told her the true terms of the settlement.\u00a0 <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"yiv3877239314MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Upon receipt of the settlement money, Avenatti took the bulk of this money \u2013 $2.5 million \u2013 and used it to purchase his portion of a jet, while falsely telling Gardner that the settlement called for monthly payments over eight years. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"yiv3877239314MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Avenatti gave Gardner a small \u201cadvance\u201d for rent and made approximately 12 monthly payments, a total of approximately $227,500, making them appear to come from the individual who paid the settlement, but then Avenatti stopped paying Gardner.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"yiv3877239314MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Gregory Barela was to receive a $1.9 million settlement in an intellectual property dispute. Avenatti embezzled the first installment of $1.6 million in January 2018, in part by providing Barela with a bogus settlement agreement indicating that the payment was going to be made two months later. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"yiv3877239314MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Avenatti used the money to pay his coffee business expenses and his own legal expenses.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"yiv3877239314MsoListParagraphCxSpLast\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Michelle Phan and Long Tran hired Avenatti to negotiate a \u201cCommon Stock Repurchase Agreement\u201d for the sale of nearly $27.5 million worth of Phan\u2019s shares of ipsy, a company founded by Phan, and then another sale of approximately $8.15 million worth of Phan\u2019s shares. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"yiv3877239314MsoListParagraphCxSpLast\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">When the first payment was made, Avenatti took his fees for the overall $35 million sale and sent the balance to Phan. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"yiv3877239314MsoListParagraphCxSpLast\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">But when the second stock sale was finalized and the company sent nearly $8.15 million, all of which belonged to Phan, Avenatti kept $4 million for himself and used this money to pay some of his law firm\u2019s bankruptcy creditors, including the IRS; to provide funding for his various businesses; and to make lulling payments to Johnson, Gardner and Barela.\u00a0 <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"yiv3877239314MsoListParagraphCxSpLast\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">When Phan and Tran demanded Phan\u2019s money, Avenatti falsely told them that the stolen $4 million had already been wired to them and provided them with a wire transfer confirmation document that documented the transfer of an earlier $4 million payment.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">\u201c[Avenatti\u2019s] scheme to defraud his clients was cruel \u2013 often reducing those <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">clients to begging for needed funds and making them feel beholden to him when he \u2018advanced\u2019 or \u2018loaned\u2019 them funds that were, in fact, the clients\u2019 own money,\u201d prosecutors argued in the sentencing memorandum.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><b><i><u>The Tax Count<\/u><\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Avenatti corruptly obstructed and impeded the IRS\u2019s efforts to collect more than $3.2 <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">million in unpaid payroll taxes, which includes money that he withheld from the paychecks of employees of Global Baristas US LLC. This Avenatti-owned company operated Tully\u2019s Coffee, and should have paid the IRS but never did.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Avenatti obstructed the agency\u2019s efforts to collect the monies that his company owed by making false statements to an IRS revenue officer; directing employees to stop depositing cash receipts; and changing the company name, Employer Identification Number, and bank account information listed with his credit card processing company to avoid IRS levies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">In addition, prosecutors argued in support of allegations in an indictment that:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: center;\" type=\"disc\">\n<li class=\"yiv3877239314MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Avenatti failed to file individual tax returns or pay any personal income taxes for 2011 through 2017, even though he had a substantial income and lived lavishly.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"yiv3877239314MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">He also failed to file partnership returns or pay taxes \u2013 including payroll taxes \u2013 for his now-defunct Newport Beach-based law firm Eagan Avenatti LLP, of which he was the managing partner, for 2013 through 2017, even though the law firm received many millions of dollars during those years.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"yiv3877239314MsoListParagraphCxSpLast\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Furthermore, Avenatti failed to file corporate tax returns or pay taxes for Avenatti &amp; Associates, of which he was president, for 2011 through 2017, even though this entity also received substantial funds.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">\u201c[Avenatti\u2019s] tax fraud scheme was massive, resulting in losses to the federal treasury\u2026and harming hundreds of his employees whose payroll taxes he stole,\u201d prosecutors noted in the sentencing memorandum.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">IRS Criminal lnvestigation conducted the investigation in this matter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv3877239314MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brett A. Sagel of the Santa Ana Branch Office and Ranee A. Katzenstein, Chief of the Major Frauds Section, prosecuted this case.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0SANTA ANA, California \u00a0A federal judge sentenced lawyer Michael John Avenatti on Monday to 14 years in prison for stealing millions of dollars from his clients, officials stated. One client was a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-department-of-justice"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lawyer Michael Avenatti Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Stealing Millions of Dollars from Clients<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0SANTA ANA, California \u00a0A federal judge sentenced lawyer Michael John Avenatti on Monday to 14 years in prison for stealing millions of dollars\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51528\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lawyer Michael Avenatti Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Stealing Millions of Dollars from Clients\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0SANTA ANA, California \u00a0A federal judge sentenced lawyer Michael John Avenatti on Monday to 14 years in prison for stealing millions of dollars\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51528\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Justice Notebook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanJusticeNotebook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-06T02:00:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/download-9.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"168\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Raul\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Raul\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=51528#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=51528\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Raul\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0\"},\"headline\":\"Lawyer Michael Avenatti Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Stealing Millions of Dollars from Clients\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-06T02:00:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=51528\"},\"wordCount\":1302,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=51528#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/download-9.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"U.S. Department of Justice\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=51528#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=51528\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=51528\",\"name\":\"Lawyer Michael Avenatti Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Stealing Millions of Dollars from Clients\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=51528#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=51528#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/download-9.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-06T02:00:27+00:00\",\"description\":\"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0SANTA ANA, California \u00a0A federal judge sentenced lawyer Michael John Avenatti on Monday to 14 years in prison for stealing millions of dollars\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=51528\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=51528#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/download-9.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/download-9.jpg\",\"width\":300,\"height\":168},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"American Justice Notebook\",\"description\":\"&quot;Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.&quot; \u2014  Thomas Jefferson\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"American Justice Notebook\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/07\\\/Justice-Scales.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/07\\\/Justice-Scales.jpg\",\"width\":675,\"height\":231,\"caption\":\"American Justice Notebook\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/AmericanJusticeNotebook\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0\",\"name\":\"Raul\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Raul\"},\"description\":\"Raul Hernandez is a former journalist. He has worked as a newspaper reporter for more than 30 years at the El Paso Herald-Post, El Paso Times, Press Enterprise in Riverside, California and the Ventura County Star in California. He was a court reporter for more than 20 years.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lawyer Michael Avenatti Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Stealing Millions of Dollars from Clients","description":"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0SANTA ANA, California \u00a0A federal judge sentenced lawyer Michael John Avenatti on Monday to 14 years in prison for stealing millions of dollars","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51528","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lawyer Michael Avenatti Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Stealing Millions of Dollars from Clients","og_description":"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0SANTA ANA, California \u00a0A federal judge sentenced lawyer Michael John Avenatti on Monday to 14 years in prison for stealing millions of dollars","og_url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51528","og_site_name":"American Justice Notebook","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanJusticeNotebook","article_published_time":"2022-12-06T02:00:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":300,"height":168,"url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/download-9.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Raul","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Raul","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51528#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51528"},"author":{"name":"Raul","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0"},"headline":"Lawyer Michael Avenatti Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Stealing Millions of Dollars from Clients","datePublished":"2022-12-06T02:00:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51528"},"wordCount":1302,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51528#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/download-9.jpg","articleSection":["U.S. Department of Justice"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51528#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51528","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51528","name":"Lawyer Michael Avenatti Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Stealing Millions of Dollars from Clients","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51528#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51528#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/download-9.jpg","datePublished":"2022-12-06T02:00:27+00:00","description":"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0SANTA ANA, California \u00a0A federal judge sentenced lawyer Michael John Avenatti on Monday to 14 years in prison for stealing millions of dollars","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51528"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51528#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/download-9.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/download-9.jpg","width":300,"height":168},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/","name":"American Justice Notebook","description":"&quot;Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.&quot; \u2014  Thomas Jefferson","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#organization","name":"American Justice Notebook","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Justice-Scales.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Justice-Scales.jpg","width":675,"height":231,"caption":"American Justice Notebook"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanJusticeNotebook"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0","name":"Raul","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g","caption":"Raul"},"description":"Raul Hernandez is a former journalist. He has worked as a newspaper reporter for more than 30 years at the El Paso Herald-Post, El Paso Times, Press Enterprise in Riverside, California and the Ventura County Star in California. He was a court reporter for more than 20 years.","sameAs":["https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=51528"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51532,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51528\/revisions\/51532"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/51531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=51528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=51528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=51528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}