Avenatti gets permission to use computer, off line

Michael Avenatti can use a computer without access to the internet to review discovery and participate in the defense of his prosecution on bank fraud, perjury, wire fraud and tax law violations, a U.S. judge ruled Monday.

Proof will be required that Avenatti is complying with the order, U.S. District Judge James V. Selna in Santa Ana said.

On Sunday U.S. Attorney Nicola T. Hanna filed a motion accusing Avenatti of violating the terms of his temporary release from jail by using the internet to draft and file the last five documents in the case pending in the Central District of California. USA v. Avenatti, 19-061-JVS, (C.D. Cal., filed April 10, 2019).

The federal prosecutors said Avenatti was using a computer owned by Jay Manheimer, the third-party custodian to whose custody he was released.

Avenatti was convicted by a federal jury in New York in February of attempting to extort more than $20 million from Nike and was indicted by a federal jury in Santa Ana in April 2019 on several counts connected to his business dealings in California and elsewhere.

He was temporarily released from federal custody in April due to health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the conditions were that he was not to leave his house or have access to the internet.

Prosecutors argued that meta data showed Avenatti had personally filed the five documents.

Avenatti's counsel, H. Dean Steward, argued in a counter filing on Sunday that the prosecutors did not understand how meta data works, and that Avenatti was allowed to download and review a PDF of documents in his case and return them by email to his attorney.

Selna's Monday order states that Avenatti's defense counsel is expected to provide the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services Office and Hanna with a description of any computer Avenatti receives within 24 hours and to confirm in writing that its internet has been disabled.

Avenatti was set to stand trial in this case in August but on June 4 Selna ordered a new trial date of Dec. 8 due to the pandemic.

Prosecutors also requested a search of Manheimer's residence and computer, as well as a court hearing to question Manheimer under oath about his involvement in Avenatti's last five court filings.

In an email Monday, Steward said he agreed with the proposal to question Manheimer.

"We are confident that this is a non-issue and will quickly be resolved," Steward said.

There are more than a one million pages of discovery in this case to review and Avenatti could "plug in and review this discovery" without using the internet, Steward said.

The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment for this story.