LOS ANGELES, CA, (THECOUNT) — Embattled lawyer, Michael Avenatti, has been accused with diverting settlement money paid by NBA Miami Heat player, Hassan Whiteside, to purchase a share in a private jet.
Whiteside reportedly paid Avenatti to negotiate a settlement of a potential lawsuit brought by the baller’s ex-girlfriend, actress and barista, Alexis Gardner. Avenatti’s client.
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Whiteside wired $2.75 million to Avenatti in January 2017 intending most of the money to go to his former girlfriend.
Instead, Avenatti hid Whiteside’s payment from her and immediately took $2.5 million to buy a share of a private jet.
Gardner has hired Avenatti as her attorney just a few weeks before to negotiate a settlement of a potential lawsuit against Whiteside.
Gardner, 27, graduated in 2013 from Marshall University in West Virginia, where Whiteside played basketball in 2009 and 2010. Her Facebook page includes several posts about Whiteside in 2014.
The full story of the Avenatti embezzlement claims came to light in bank records and in the April 10 indictment of the Los Angeles lawyer by a federal grand jury in Santa Ana, reports the LATimes.
“We entered into a mutually agreed upon settlement more than two years ago following the end of our relationship; a settlement that reflected Alexis’ investment of time and support over a number of years as Hassan pursued a career in the NBA,” Whiteside and Gardner told The Los Angeles Times in a statement released by his agent.
“It is unfortunate that something that was meant to be kept private between us is now being publicly reported. We have both moved on amicably and wish nothing but the best for each other.”
Whiteside, 29, played for the Sacramento Kings before he joined the Miami team. In 2016, he re-signed with the Miami Heat for four years in a deal worth $98 million.
Gardner is one of five clients whose money prosecutors say Avenatti stole.
Geoffrey Ernest Johnson, was a mentally ill paraplegic on disability who won a $4 million settlement, but received just $124,000 from Avenatti.
The grand jury alleges that Avenatti embezzled about $4 million from another client, Youtube star, Michelle Phan, a makeup artist with 8.8 million followers.
Avenatti is also charged with dodging taxes, bank fraud, perjury and bankruptcy fraud. In a separate federal case in New York, Avenatti is accused of extortion and conspiracy for his alleged shakedown of Nike, the sportswear giant.
If convicted on all charges on both coasts, he faces a maximum penalty of almost 400 years in prison.
Avenatti has denied wrongdoing.