Companies Once Owned by Michael Avenatti Owe Millions in Unpaid Taxes and Judgments (Report)

Michael Avenatti, who is gearing up for a 2020 presidential run, has owed millions in federal taxes, while two of his former companies also owe millions in unpaid taxes and judgments, according to a report published Sunday by the Daily Beast.

The report claims that Avenatti, who came to fame as the press-loving attorney for Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against President Trump, has been enjoying what it refers to as "the luxe life" while owing the money.

According to court documents and filings with local recorder's offices seen by Daily Beast's reporters, Avenatti's former law firm, Eagan Avenatti, and Tully's, a now-defunct Seattle coffee chain that he once owned through his former company Global Baristas (a majority owner in the chain), owe millions of dollars in unpaid federal and state taxes to Washington and California as well as hundreds of thousands dollars in overdue rent.

In addition, according to the report, Avenatti has owed at least $1.2 million in federal taxes, according to tax liens filed in Orange County, including one filed in February 2018 was for $308,396. Another one, from August 2015, was for $903,987.

Avenatti told the Daily Beast that both debts were "fully paid," but the news site reported that it could not find any evidence or records showing that the liens were paid. He also said he is not responsible for the money owed by his former companies.

At the same time he owed money, according to civil court filings cited in the report, he was spending time racing cars with a Saudi prince and paying for luxury villas in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for his wife and their friends.

The unpaid debts are sure to become a hot topic once again in the months leading up to the 2020 election. Trump generated headlines after repeatedly refusing to release his tax returns ahead of the 2016 election.

Read the full Daily Beast report here.