Before I get to the Michael Avenatti part, I think people are burying the lede.
What in the world did the IG model have on Whiteside that he would agree to pay her $3 million? It had to be something serious for him to agree to that so she would be silent.
That is what people really should be investigating. What dirt did Avenatti have on Whiteside that he willing would give up $3 million? Knowing how Avenatti’s tactics in dealing with people, this was likely more extortion, disguised as a settlement for work related things.
Now to the Avenatti part.
On Jan. 7, 2017, Gardner and Whiteside agreed to a settlement of $3 million after they broke up to reflect, in their words, “[Gardner’s] investment of time and support over a number of years as Hassan pursued a career in the NBA.” The plan was for Whiteside to pay $2.75 million later that month, and for the final $250,000 to come in 2020. Avenatti was supposed to only take a little over $1 million of the first payment with fees and costs factored in. In reality, he ended up taking all of Whiteside’s payment and sending $2.5 million of it to an associate to transfer it to Honda Aircraft Company, LLC for a private jet, according to the indictment.
Avenatti was able to hide this scheme from Gardner because he never gave her a copy of the settlement. He was able to lie to her about the specifics of the payment schedule, saying that the first payment was for legal fees and that the rest would come in 96 monthly payments over eight years, per the indictment. Avenatti’s monthly installments to Gardner totaled $194,000 over 11 months. When the payments stopped coming in, Avenatti told Gardner that Whiteside was just not holding up his end of the agreement—a lie that persisted over nine months.
What is interesting is the woman Alexis Gardner couldn’t have been Whiteside Ex-girlfriend because he was with stripper Ashly Ariza during the time of the settlement and is still with her now.
So, it appears that Whiteside didn’t want people to know he had a side chick and she must know all his secrets.
In the end, Whiteside paid for Avenatti’s private jet that has now been seized by the FBI.
Flip the pages for photos of Whiteside current lady.