Federal Judge Declares Mistrial in Michael Avenatti Fraud Case
Facing multiple pending criminal trials, Avenatti claims a rare victory in California.
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Federal judge James V. Selna of the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, California has declared a mistrial in a fraud case against Michael Avenatti, finding that federal prosecutors withheld financial data from Avenatti’s defense team that they had collected as part of their case accusing him of stealing millions of dollars from five clients and lying repeatedly about his business and income, reports the New York Times. Avenatti had contended that the accounting and tax preparation data from his law firm’s servers was exculpatory evidence that could clear him of the charges.
Federal prosecutors in the fraud case said that Avenatti had lied about his business income not just to his clients, but also to an I.R.S. collection agent, creditors, a bankruptcy court and a bankruptcy trustee. Avenatti, 50, gained widespread attention for representing Stormy Daniels, a pornographic film actress, in her lawsuits against former President Donald J. Trump. Avenatti said that the government had suppressed key evidence that would prove his innocence.
