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Seagram's heiress Clare Bronfman faints in federal court after judge asks if Michael Avenatti acted
Source: CNBC
Seagram’s heiress Clare Bronfman faints in federal court after judge asks if Michael Avenatti acted as her lawyer
PUBLISHED 3 HOURS AGO | UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO
Dan Mangan
Clare Bronfman, an heiress to the Seagram liquor fortune, fainted Wednesday in federal court in New York City after a judge asked if she was being secretly represented by embattled celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti in a case where she is charged with money laundering and identity theft involving the alleged sex-cult NXIVM.
After Bronfman’s fainting spell, it was revealed in open court that Avenatti had, in fact, last week met with federal prosecutors in Brooklyn about her case, according to a knowledgeable source. The details of that meeting were not disclosed.
With him at that sitdown was a lawyer known to be representing Bronfman, fellow celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos, who has been identified as an alleged co-conspirator of Avenatti’s in a purported scheme to extort sneaker giant Nike, a prosecutor told the judge in the case. Geragos has not been criminally charged with Avenatti.
Bronfman’s apparent collapse in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn came two days after Avenatti was accused by federal prosecutors in Manhattan and Los Angeles of trying to extort Nike for up to $25 million, defrauding a client out of a legal settlement, and defrauding a bank by offering the lender bogus income tax returns.
The hearing in Brooklyn was called to apprise Bronfman of the possible conflicts her lawyers would have in representing her in her own criminal case, given their potential legal exposure to the same Justice Department that is prosecuting her. While Geragos has filed an appearance in Bronfman’s case as her lawyer, Avenatti has not — despite meeting with prosecutors about her.
-snip-
PUBLISHED 3 HOURS AGO | UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO
Dan Mangan
Clare Bronfman, an heiress to the Seagram liquor fortune, fainted Wednesday in federal court in New York City after a judge asked if she was being secretly represented by embattled celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti in a case where she is charged with money laundering and identity theft involving the alleged sex-cult NXIVM.
After Bronfman’s fainting spell, it was revealed in open court that Avenatti had, in fact, last week met with federal prosecutors in Brooklyn about her case, according to a knowledgeable source. The details of that meeting were not disclosed.
With him at that sitdown was a lawyer known to be representing Bronfman, fellow celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos, who has been identified as an alleged co-conspirator of Avenatti’s in a purported scheme to extort sneaker giant Nike, a prosecutor told the judge in the case. Geragos has not been criminally charged with Avenatti.
Bronfman’s apparent collapse in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn came two days after Avenatti was accused by federal prosecutors in Manhattan and Los Angeles of trying to extort Nike for up to $25 million, defrauding a client out of a legal settlement, and defrauding a bank by offering the lender bogus income tax returns.
The hearing in Brooklyn was called to apprise Bronfman of the possible conflicts her lawyers would have in representing her in her own criminal case, given their potential legal exposure to the same Justice Department that is prosecuting her. While Geragos has filed an appearance in Bronfman’s case as her lawyer, Avenatti has not — despite meeting with prosecutors about her.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/27/seagrams-heiress-clare-bronfman-faints-when-asked-about-avenatti.html
______________________________________________________________________
Source: Associated Press
Prosecutors say Avenatti wanted in on NY sex-slave case
By TOM HAYS
March 27, 2019
NEW YORK (AP) — An already bizarre case accusing a secretive self-help group in upstate New York of engaging in sex-trafficking took another strange turn Wednesday thanks to firebrand attorney Michael Avenatti and a courtroom scene caused by a wealthy defendant he’s tried to represent.
At a hearing in federal court in Brooklyn, prosecutors confirmed that Avenatti appeared on behalf of liquor fortune heiress Clare Bronfman at a closed-door meeting last week that also included Mark Geragos, another high-profile lawyer representing Bronfman.
When U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis asked Geragos whether he and Avenatti had told prosecutors Avenatti was being brought into the case, he responded, “That’s exactly what happened.”
The revelation came only two days after Avenatti, the lawyer best known for representing porn actress Stormy Daniels, was arrested on charges accusing him of trying to extort millions of dollars from Nike. He wasn’t in court Wednesday and didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Geragos has been linked to the Nike case by reports naming him as the unidentified co-conspirator mentioned in court papers. Asked outside court Wednesday if he was cooperating in the case, he said no, but declined comment on whether he was the alleged co-conspirator.
-snip-
By TOM HAYS
March 27, 2019
NEW YORK (AP) — An already bizarre case accusing a secretive self-help group in upstate New York of engaging in sex-trafficking took another strange turn Wednesday thanks to firebrand attorney Michael Avenatti and a courtroom scene caused by a wealthy defendant he’s tried to represent.
At a hearing in federal court in Brooklyn, prosecutors confirmed that Avenatti appeared on behalf of liquor fortune heiress Clare Bronfman at a closed-door meeting last week that also included Mark Geragos, another high-profile lawyer representing Bronfman.
When U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis asked Geragos whether he and Avenatti had told prosecutors Avenatti was being brought into the case, he responded, “That’s exactly what happened.”
The revelation came only two days after Avenatti, the lawyer best known for representing porn actress Stormy Daniels, was arrested on charges accusing him of trying to extort millions of dollars from Nike. He wasn’t in court Wednesday and didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Geragos has been linked to the Nike case by reports naming him as the unidentified co-conspirator mentioned in court papers. Asked outside court Wednesday if he was cooperating in the case, he said no, but declined comment on whether he was the alleged co-conspirator.
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/85c0159783bb49258fd58d88614d4c24
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