'Some structural damage' from wildfire near Fort Nelson, B.C., mayor confirms
More than one home has been damaged or lost due to a massive wildfire outside of the B.C. community of Fort Nelson, the mayor confirmed Wednesday.
Incarcerated lawyer Michael Avenatti pleaded guilty Thursday to four counts of wire fraud and a tax-related charge in a federal court case in Southern California accusing him of cheating his clients out of millions of dollars.
Avenatti made the plea during a court hearing in Santa Ana. Prosecutors said the plea subjects Avenatti to as much as 83 years in prison
The 51-year-old lawyer who is representing himself in the California case said earlier this week that although he didn't reach a deal with federal prosecutors he wanted to change his plea to be accountable and spare his family further embarrassment.
Federal prosecutors accused Avenatti of cheating clients out of millions by negotiating and collecting settlement payments on their behalf and funneling the money to accounts that he controlled. He was charged in a 36-count indictment in 2019 of crimes including wire and tax fraud.
A sentencing hearing was tentatively scheduled for Sept. 19, but, if the government decides to try him on any of the remaining counts, that date will likely be vacated so he can be sentenced on all counts after trial. The government said it expects to be able to inform the court of its plans on Monday.
The government estimated that the appropriate amount of restitution to victims affected in the schemes related to the wire fraud counts is $9 million. Avenatti said he believes it is “drastically less” than that. The judge said that would be an issue he would consider for sentencing.
Avenatti is serving five years in prison in a federal facility in California for convictions in two cases in New York.
He was convicted of stealing book proceeds from Stormy Daniels, the porn actor who catapulted him to fame as he represented her in court and cable news programs during her legal battles with then-President Donald Trump. Avenatti was previously convicted of trying to extort Nike if the shoemaker didn't pay him up to $25 million.
Avenatti, who is suspended from practicing law in California, rose to fame after he represented Daniels in her lawsuit to break a confidentiality agreement with Trump to stay mum about an affair she said they had.
He became one of Trump's leading adversaries, attacking him on cable news programs and Twitter, and at one point considered challenging him in the 2020 presidential election.
Avenatti was charged in federal cases in New York and California. He was convicted in New York and a mistrial was declared last year in California after the judge found prosecutors failed to provide him key financial evidence.
Avenatti was scheduled to stand trial on some of the California counts in July, with a trial on the rest to follow.
Prosecutors said Avenatti collected millions of dollars in payments from clients and used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle including a private jet rather than paying them what they were due.
Authorities said Avenatti collected $4 million from Los Angeles County for a man who suffered in-custody injuries and was left paraplegic after a suicide attempt, but denied the settlement was received and paid the man much smaller amounts ranging from $1,000 to $1,900, which he called advances on the broader settlement.
In another instance, prosecutors said Avenatti collected a $2.75 million settlement payment for a client and used much of the money to buy a private airplane.
Prosecutors also accused Avenatti of failing to pay personal income taxes and business taxes and pocketing millions of dollars in payroll taxes from a coffee chain he owned.
Before the criminal charges, Avenatti faced numerous legal problems including a hefty civil judgment and his law firm's bankruptcy proceedings.
More than one home has been damaged or lost due to a massive wildfire outside of the B.C. community of Fort Nelson, the mayor confirmed Wednesday.
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
An 'unrepentant' YouTuber has been ordered to pay $350,000 in damages as compensation for a 'relentless' campaign of defamation waged online against a business owner and his company, the B.C. Supreme Court has ruled.
Chief Robert Michell says relief isn't the right word to describe his reaction as the search begins for unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school he attended in northern British Columbia.
While it's unclear what these closures might mean for the 27 restaurants in Canada, Red Lobster is expected to file for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. this month.
A man from B.C.'s Lower Mainland has been sentenced to four years behind bars after shooting a sex worker in the back during a drug-fuelled 43rd birthday.
Nearly six dozen dogs were seized from a home Wednesday morning by the Winnipeg Humane Society. It is the largest known seizure of animals in the city’s history.
Of the $40-million Aiden Pleterski was handed over two years, documents show he invested just over one per cent and instead spent $15.9 million on "his personal lifestyle." The 25-year-old Oshawa, Ont. man was arrested and charged with fraud and money laundering on Tuesday.
A man with a long record of dangerous driving told investigators he smoked marijuana oil and took prescription drugs hours before he sideswiped a bus, killing eight Mexican farmworkers and injuring dozens more, according to an arrest report unsealed Wednesday.
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.