Avenatti accused of embezzling $1.5M from NBA player Hassan Whiteside:
Attorney Michael Avenatti in 2017 embezzled $1.5 million from NBA player Hassan Whiteside, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.
The Times, citing bank records and an indictment brought against Avenatti, reported that in 2017 Whiteside - who plays for the Miami Heat - wired Avenatti $2.75 million and intended for his former girlfriend, Alexis Gardner, to get most of the money.
Avenatti was entitled to slightly more than $1 million in fees as part of the deal, according to the Times. But prosecutors say he instead hid the money from Gardner, took $2.5 million and put it toward a private jet, the Times reported.
"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 Times in a statement.
https://thehill.com/homenews/news/439933-avenatti-accused-of-embezzling-15m-from-nba-player-hassan-whiteside-report