Michael Avenatti arrives at a federal court in Manhattan for a criminal case in which he is accused of stealing money from his former client, adult-film star Stormy Daniels on Jan. 24, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

A federal prosecutor told a jury on Wednesday that the fraud trial has exposed fallen celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti’s “web of lies,” theft, and betrayal of his most famous client: adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

“The defendant was a lawyer who stole from his own client. She thought that he was her own advocate, but he betrayed her,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Sobelman said on Wednesday, echoing the remarks his fellow prosecutor made during opening statements on Jan. 24.

Sobelman told the jury that the “defendant’s lies and betrayal were exposed” now that the evidence is in.

Avenatti first rose to national prominence representing Daniels in her litigation against Donald Trump attempting to invalidate a non-disclosure agreement that she signed to keep her from discussing her alleged affair with Trump well before he was president. The high-stakes litigation made both the lawyer and his client household names, social media stars, and frequently booked guests on the TV and cable news airwaves.

With help from Avenatti, Daniels found an agent (Janklow & Nesbit Associates) and publisher (St. Martin’s Press) to fulfill her decade-long dream to write a memoir, which she titled “Full Disclosure.” Daniels testified that Avenatti swiped nearly $300,000 of the $800,000 advance on that book, telling the jury “he stole from me and lied to me.”

Dozens of text messages spread out over the course of several months show Daniels demanding her payments, after bank records show the publisher already sent the money to Avenatti’s accounts and he spent it.

“He lied to Ms. Daniels for months to cover it up,” Sobelman said.

This text exchange entered into evidence during the trial of Michael Avenatti shows him telling Stormy Daniels he will check when the publisher will send her advance. Prosecutors say Avenatti already had the payment at this time, calling it a “let-me-check lie.”

One of those lies, in Sobelman’s phrasing, was the “let-me-check lie.”

It is named after the exact phrasing Avenatti used when Daniels asked him about her book payment in November 2018, months after it was sent to Avenatti.

Other times, Avenatti told Daniels that he would threaten litigation to obtain her advance payment. There was never any discussion of a lawsuit because Avenatti already had received and spent it, the prosecutor said.

In this text message, Avenatti appears to tell Stormy Daniels that he will threaten to sue her publisher to get her book advance. Prosecutors say that Avenatti already had and spent the advance by that time.

Early in the trial, Avenatti dumped his legal team and decided to represent himself, and he will be delivering summations in his own defense once the prosecution’s closing arguments conclude.

Despite once claiming he was “strongly leaning” toward taking the stand, Avenatti ultimately did not testify in his defense or call any witnesses. Subjecting himself to cross-examination would have been a risky move for Avenatti, opening the door for prosecutors to question him about his alleged misconduct.

Last July, Avenatti was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for conspiring to extort Nike. He wound up serving only a portion of that sentence behind bars because of the coronavirus pandemic. He could face up to 22 years imprisonment if convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in the Daniels case, though he would likely face a far lighter sentence.

This is a developing story.

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