'I'm one of the biggest enemies of the president': Michael Avenatti pleads not guilty to charges he stole MILLIONS of dollars from clients, cheated on his taxes and lied to investigators
- Avenatti, 48, pleaded not guilty to all 36 counts of wire fraud, bank fraud, tax fraud and bankruptcy fraud
- He released a statement saying that even though he is 'one of the biggest enemies of the president and his son,' he deserves to be presumed innocent
- Avenatti is accused of stealing $12million from clients' settlements, failing to file tax returns and stealing taxes from paychecks of staff at his coffee business
- Avenatti has a separate case in New York, where he is accused of trying to extort Nike to the tune of more than $20million
Michael Avenatti pleaded not guilty Monday to three dozen criminal charges accusing him of stealing a total of $12million from clients, cheating on his taxes and lying to investigators - after branding himself 'one of the biggest enemies' of President Donald Trump.
When asked to enter a plea in federal court in Santa Ana, California, Avenatti, 48, told the judge, 'Not guilty to all charges.'
He declined to comment after the hearing and referred reporters to an earlier statement he gave about the right to be presumed innocent.
Avenatti rose to fame representing porn actress Stormy Daniels in her legal battles against alleged erstwhile lover, President Donald Trump.
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Attorney Michael Avenatti gets into an SUV after his arraignment Monday, April 29, 2019, in Santa Ana, California, where he pleaded no guilty to all 36 charges
Before Monday's hearing, Avenatti released this statement asking to be presumed innocent and taking a potshot at his foes, Donald Trump and his son Don Jr
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He was indicted earlier this month on 36 counts in California, including wire and bank fraud. His trial is scheduled to start June 25.
Avenatti makes an initial appearance on charges of bank and wire fraud as he arrives at federal court in Santa Ana on April 1
Prosecutors have said Avenatti embezzled settlement funds and proceeds from other matters he handled for five clients and doled out small portions, sometimes labeling them as advances to prevent thefts from being discovered.
One of the alleged victims is Geoffrey Ernest Johnson, a mentally ill paraplegic who won a $4million settlement from Los Angeles County in 2015 stemming from his jailhouse suicide attempts.
Prosecutors said Avenatti hid the settlement from him for years and spent the money himself on his coffee business, Global Baristas US, and race car team.
A grand jury indictment claimed that in 2017, Avenatti received $2.75million in a separate case but hid that from his client too. The next day, he allegedly spent $2.5million of the money on a private plane. In one case, he allegedly lied about already wiring a client $4million, saying he had done it when he had not.
Avenatti also is accused of failing to file personal tax returns since 2010 and depositing millions of dollars into his personal bank accounts.
He also failed to file returns, it is claimed, for his law firms, Eagan Avenatti and Avenatti & Associates.
Not only did not not file his own returns but he allegedly stole $2.4million in taxes from the paychecks of employees of his coffee business.
He withheld it from them, claiming they were going to the IRS, but never sent the money, it is claimed.
The lawyer, who is free on $300,000 bond, has denied the charges, saying he had made powerful enemies and would plead not guilty and fight the case.
'The right to a presumption of innocence and the right to a jury trial are two fundamental rights that our founding fathers demanded when this country was formed over 200 years ago,' he said in a statement before Monday's hearing.
Ghosted: Stormy Daniels said last month that she was not surprised her former lawyer had been arrested and that they had parted ways
Initially, Avenatti said he would represent himself on Monday after telling the judge he was finalizing an agreement with a private attorney. The judge asked a public defender to stand in and represent him solely for Monday's arraignment.
If convicted of all 36 counts against him in the California case, the 48-year-old attorney could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Avenatti was arrested in March in New York in a separate case alleging he demanded more than $20million to stay quiet about claims he planned to reveal about Nike paying high school athletes. He has denied wrongdoing in that case as well.
The charges are a blow to a legal career for Avenatti that took off after he represented Daniels in her lawsuit to break a confidentiality agreement with Trump to stay mum about an affair they allegedly had, which the married president has denied.
Avenatti became one of Trump's leading adversaries, attacking him on cable news programs and Twitter.
At one point, Avenatti considered challenging Trump in the 2020 elections.
Daniels, who fired Avenatti as her lawyer last month after accusing him of dishonesty, has said she was 'saddened but not shocked' by his arrest.
