Disgraced attorney Michael Avenatti pleads guilty to five criminal charges in federal court and admitted to stealing millions of dollars from his clients.

The guilty plea is another step closer to resolving a flurry of federal charges against the attorney. The charges include four counts of wire fraud for each client he stole from and one count of endeavoring to obstruct the administration of the Internal Revenue Code.

Michael Avenatti's Guilty Plea

Prosecutors argued that Avenatti obstructed the IRS' effort to collect $5 million in unpaid payroll taxes for a company he operated known as Tully's Coffee. Judge James Selna set the disgraced attorney's sentencing for Sept. 19.

Avenatti faces a statutory maximum of 83 years in prison, although his sentence would most likely fall below the maximum. The suspect's plea resolves one of two remaining criminal cases against him. The former lawyer fell from grace after being hit with three federal indictments in a six-week period in 2019, as per CNN.

Avenatti, on Thursday, admitted to stealing millions of dollars from clients, including $4 million from a client with major disabilities. According to the indictment, the suspect negotiated settlements for the clients that required payment to go to them and lied to the clients about the terms of the settlements.

Instead, he deposited the funds into attorney trust accounts that he controlled which he then embezzled. Avenatti also told clients the settlement proceeds had not yet been paid, among other tactics, in order to prevent his crimes from being discovered.

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According to Fox News, the lawyer, who was representing himself in court, failed to reach a deal with federal prosecutors earlier in the week. However, he decided to change his plea in an effort to hold himself accountable and avoid any further embarrassment to his family.

On top of the five criminal charges that Avenatti pleaded guilty to on Thursday, he could also face 31 counts depending on if the government wants to pursue those charges. A decision on the pending 31 counts is expected to come next week.

Stealing Millions of Dollars

The suspect will be forced to pay fines in excess of $1 million and restitution which the government said was $14 million. The hearing was delayed on Thursday morning while Avenatti met with his appointed counsel and later told the judge that he was "prepared to plead guilty to five counts this morning."

Prior to the hearing, Avenatti was serving five years in a federal prison in California for two convictions handed down in New York in relation to stealing book proceeds from former adult film star Stormy Daniels. He was also convicted of attempting to extort Nike if it did not pay him up to $25 million.

Talking in court, Avenattie said, "I misappropriated and misused certain of their settlement funds," but noted that he believes the amount owed in restitution was "drastically less" than the $9 million stated by the government.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Sagel said that Avenatti finally admitted what the IRS criminal investigation and the U.S. attorney's office have been saying for several years. This was that he committed audacious acts to steal money from his clients to fund his agendas, ABC News reported.

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