The US DOJ Central District of California seized a six-seat Honda HA-420 twin-engine jet Wednesday they claim is owned by a company co-owned by Michael Avenatti.
It is estimated to be worth $4.5 million.
Readers of Frank Report recently got a near glimpse of Avenatti when it was revealed he was representing Clare Bronfman in her criminal racketeering case.
Frank Report learned he was also retained by the litigious heiress to represent her in a civil lawsuit against this writer in Western New York.
Bronfman fainted (or, as some claim, pretended to faint) dead away last month at a Curcio hearing about potential attorney conflicts of interest when US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis asked her if Avenatti was one of her undisclosed lawyers in her federal criminal case in the Eastern District of New York.
It was revealed in that court hearing that Avenatti and Geragos met with Deputy US Attorney Mark Lesko in the Eastern District of New York, where Bronfman is facing trial next month, to negotiate a Third Party Cooperation agreement with the DOJ.
A Third Party Cooperation agreement is an arrangement where a criminal defendant in one case provides information helpful to the prosecution in another case or evidence of criminality in an unrelated matter in return for a more lenient plea deal or other considerations.
It has been thought that Avenatti and Geragos were offering information about potential crimes committed by Nike officials in return for a better deal for Bronfman.
The meeting with the DOJ occurred one week prior to Avenatti’s arrest on a criminal complaint (not an indictment) by the Southern District of NY.
Avenatti’s jet was seized at the Santa Barbara Airport about 10 a.m. today after a federal judge issued a warrant. The seizure is related to a pending criminal case in Los Angeles where Avenatti is accused of wire and bank fraud, allegedly defrauding a bank and a client and not Avenatti’s Nike-related extortion charges in the Southern District of New York.
Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York accused him of attempting to extort $25 million from Nike “by threatening to use his ability to garner publicity to inflict substantial financial and reputational harm on the company if his demands were not met.”
Bronfman’s lead attorney, celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos, has been identified as the unnamed Co-Conspirator #1 in a criminal complaint against Avenatti in the Nike matter. Geragos has not been indicted, but a grand jury is reportedly sitting, hearing evidence on the case.
There is some question over whether Avenatti actually owns the seized plane. Fox News reports that federal court records indicate the plane, bought on Jan. 30, 2017, was registered to Passport 420, a company co-owned by Avenatti.
But Avenatti told Fox News, “I haven’t used the plane in almost a year and I gave up my [ownership] interest last year. I have no interest in the plane and could care less.”
Avenatti previously represented adult-film star Stormy Daniels in litigation against President Trump.
On the day following Bronfman’s “fainting” episode (which ended that day’s inquiries by the judge), Bronfman returned to court and said Avenatti no longer represented her.
Michael Avenatti embezzled millions from paraplegic client’s settlement, new 36-count indictment alleges
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/michael-avenatti-faces-36-count-indictment-california-n993391
This is the shitstain the democrats when he was shooting his big mouth off against President Donald J Trump.
Avenatti “gave up ownership” in the aircraft. In other words, I sold my share of the aircraft for cash and didn’t pay any taxes on it, which implicates me even further for defrauding the government and/or other persons.
“Passport 420?” Sounds like it’s making drug cartel runs to Mexico. Somethin’ like Jeff Epstein’s “Lolita Express”?
Dear Clare Bronfman,
Next year on your birthday you will be in prison. Ain’t life grand!!!
I’m not convinced Clair will see the inside of a prison. With her money even if she is found guilty, a great appeals attorney will find a technicality to overturn the conviction. Years will pass with her on house arrest and she will quietly get away with it long after Keith has gone to prison. He will probably not live too long and get killed in Federal prison.
By then no one will even remember Clair was ever involved with Keith. She will be sitting in the south of France sipping expensive wine.
The judge should put her in prison during the appeal process.
Actually Anonymous my money is on Claire Bronfman fleeing the country to France. Clair is too petrified of going to prison, to stick it out, plus a judge will never allow her to leave the United States while her case is on appeal.
Then again there was that banker, who defrauded investors of millions, that was a fugitive and Clinton pardoned him….
MK10ART, you should do a book of your pictures. I like most of them, I could live forever with any of KAR.
Clare’s a bitch. Keith did so much for her and she fucks him over and now see what happens to him. Ha!
“Yolanda Cortez
April 10, 2019 at 7:59 pm
Clare’s a bitch. Keith did so much for her and she fucks him over and now see what happens to him. Ha!”
Yolanda, If you love Keith so much you can marry him while he’s in prison.
You would know that he won’t be cheating Onyu with a woman in prison.
Sounds like somebody is lying, either the gubment for taking a plane that doesn’t belong to Avenatti, or Avenatti, because it does and he denies it.
At least The kids playing ball didn’t have their mommies pay to get them into college.They played ball, hard, on the court. And Nike is the bad guy?
^This!!!^
Seize anything and everything! “Let them eat cake”