Fogbow

In Avenatti’s Nike extortion case, Probation calculated the Guideline range as 135-168 months and recommended a downward variance to 96 months. Avenatti asked for 6 months. A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?

Probation’s recommendation below the guidelines is likely (we don’t have their letter so we don’t know) reflecting some disquiet about how “loss” is calculated. See, the biggest part of white collar sentences is driven by how big the “loss” was.

But in cases like this, where there was no actual loss because the imbecile tried to extort Boies Schiller and Nike and got stomped like a bug, the theory is that you use INTENDED loss — that is, TRYING to extort $20 million is treated the same as SUCCESSFULLY doing it.

Everyone else thinks it’s bullshit. It frequently produces irrational results — a nutty extortion demand for a million is treated far harsher than a nutty demand for ten thousand, even though the conduct is otherwise the same.

It has never been cogently explained why Mr. Geragos was never acted on as a co-conspirator. I intend to impose a sentence of 30 months.

somerset wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 4:28 pm That's a good question about Geragos.

Is Avenetti also facing criminal charges for stealing from his clients and the tax fraud issues surrounding Tully's coffee?

neonzx wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 4:37 pm

somerset wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 4:28 pm That's a good question about Geragos.

Is Avenetti also facing criminal charges for stealing from his clients and the tax fraud issues surrounding Tully's coffee?

Judge Gardaphe made mention of two other cases pending in CA courts so I assume those issues are in there.

In determining Avenatti's sentence, the judge said that one of the factors he had taken into consideration were the "horrific" conditions Avenatti had endured at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, the federal facility in lower Manhattan where Avenatti was held at the start of his detention.

Avenatti was held in solitary confinement for 100 days, according to his lawyer, and then twice in lockdown, once because someone had smuggled a gun into the facility and once due to the coronavirus. The judge said of the conditions of Avenatti's confinement that it was "hard to believe they could occur in the United States of America."

The judge also said a lengthy sentence for Avenatti wouldn't be just because another lawyer who prosecutors once called a co-conspirator was ultimately never charged.

A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit Michael Avenatti filed against Fox News.

Avenatti, a frequent CNN guest who fell significantly from grace since representing porn star Stormy Daniels in her claims against Donald Trump, sued Fox News over the way it covered his arrest on “suspicion of domestic violence.” (That’s the verbiage used by the LAPD to describe the alleged incident.)

Avenatti recently was sentenced to prison after a jury agreed that he attempted to extort Nike. And he’s currently on trial over accusations he embezzled money from his former clients.

Avenatti’s legal fate in the Fox News defamation lawsuit was decided Friday afternoon by Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas, a Donald Trump appointee to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Judge Bibas heard the case while sitting by designation in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

The judge issued a pointed introductory paragraph trashing the litigation in general terms:

News outlets are not liable for minor mistakes, especially when reporting on public figures and matters of public concern. Michael Avenatti, a famous lawyer, was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. Fox News covered his arrest. He sued, claiming that its reporting defamed him. But most of its statements were substantially true. And Avenatti does not plausibly plead that Fox or its employees knew that the statements were false or recklessly disregarded that possibility. He also fails to allege any recoverable damages. I will thus dismiss his complaint.

Good morning from New York.

Michael Avenatti's federal trial accusing him of defrauding Stormy Daniels is about to begin.

Covering it live for
@LawCrimeNews

Michael Cohen wrote: I figured @MichaelAvenatti was so kind and gracious to use other peoples’ money to fly himself and @StormyDaniels to my hearing, the only decent thing to do is to reciprocate…so here I am at the courthouse!!!

Oh, man. Michael Avenatti just dumped his public defenders in court and will represent himself moving forward against charges he stole $300,000 from Stormy Daniels.

This means Avenatti will be cross examining Daniels when she takes the stand tomorrow.