Attorney Michael Avenatti faces 36 criminal charges after he was indicted by a grand jury in Southern California, the Washington Post reported. Avenatti, known for representing Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against President Trump, was arrested last month in New York for allegedly attempting to extort millions of dollars from Nike. Separately, he was charged in a case in California for allegedly using a client’s settlement money to pay for his personal expenses. The grand jury indictment, which was handed down on Wednesday, charges the attorney with wire fraud, bank fraud and tax fraud, among other things. Specifically, it alleges that Avenatti stole from his clients, including from a paraplegic man, and took payroll taxes from employees at his Seattle-based coffee chain, Tully’s, according to the Associated Press. The AP reported that the attorney is also charged with failing to pay taxes, lying in bankruptcy proceedings and committing bank fraud.
