By Cara Salvatore

Law360 (January 21, 2021, 9:18 PM EST ) Federal prosecutors in California have requested a delay to an upcoming embezzlement trial for disgraced celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti, saying the COVID-19 pandemic makes a February date unsafe.

After U.S. District Judge James Selna earlier this month asked Avenatti's attorney and federal prosecutors to discuss moving the first part of the bifurcated trial from Feb. 23 to mid-July, prosecutors said Wednesday that was a good plan, saying July 13 would be a good date for trial of the first 10 counts in the case.

"Federal, state, and local authorities, along with this court's orders, have recognized that we are in the midst of a grave public-health emergency requiring people to take extreme measures to limit contact. The Central District of California has no established jury-trial protocol at present. … In the absence of such a district-wide protocol, proceeding with a jury trial is unsafe," prosecutors said.

The 10 counts in question are for wire fraud in connection with allegations Avenatti siphoned money from five clients' settlement awards. The remaining 25 counts — for bank and tax fraud related to various business operations — are currently set for trial Oct. 12. The October trial should remain on schedule, the prosecutors recommended.

Prosecutors said Wednesday they believe Avenatti "does not appear to oppose" the July postponement request.

Avenatti's other case, in New York federal court, is set for trial in April and concerns accusations he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from former client Stormy Daniels' book deal. Daniels, a porn actress, became a household name in 2018 after it was reported that she had an affair in 2006 with Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, prosecutors also pushed back Wednesday against Avenatti's recent argument that they're not complying with procedural due-process requirements. Prosecutors said Avenatti's recent statement that the Due Process Protections Act, which became law in October, requires prosecutors to hand over certain information "mischaracterizes" what is called for. The law requires only that courts enter an official order confirming Brady obligations to turn over all potentially exculpatory evidence, prosecutors said. They asked the court to enter such an order pursuant to the new law.

Avenatti is on home confinement until March, according to the California case docket, after Judge Selna last month once again extended the attorney's freedom.

In the indictment against Avenatti announced in April 2019, prosecutors claim he defrauded five of his former clients by lying to them about the details of settlements in their favor while using the money for his own ends. Prosecutors say Avenatti used millions of dollars in ill-gotten funds to pay bankruptcy creditors and other clients from whom he had taken money.

In addition, Avenatti allegedly stiffed the government on payroll taxes from his Tully's Coffee business to the tune of $3.2 million from 2015 to 2017. He is also charged with failing to file personal tax returns between 2014 and 2017 and failing to file returns for his law firms Eagan Avenatti LLP and Avenatti & Associates between 2015 and 2017.

Avenatti was found guilty last year of extorting Nike in a separate New York case. Sentencing is set for February.

A representative for Avenatti declined to comment. A representative for the prosecutors was not immediately available for comment.

The government is represented by Julian Andre, Brett Sagel and Patrick Fitzgerald of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

Avenatti is represented by H. Dean Steward.

The case is U.S. v. Michael Avenatti, case number 8:19-cr-00061, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

--Additional reporting by Lauren Berg, Andrew Strickler, Stewart Bishop, Reenat Sinay and Dave Simpson. Editing by Andrew Cohen.

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