The federal complaint says John C. Fry admitted providing the information to Michael Avenatti when he was confronted by federal agents.
ADVERTISEMENTFederal prosecutors say an IRS investigator in California has admitted leaking confidential details of financial transactions by former Trump attorney Michael Cohen to Michael Avenatti, lawyer for Stormy Daniels.
John C. Fry has been charged in federal court with searching for and disseminating Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), reports filed by banks when they note potentially suspicious transactions.
Federal officials say they found telephone records that indicate Fry placed a phone call from his personal cell phone to that of Stormy Daniels' attorneyMichael Avenatti the day before Avenatti released details of Cohen's financial transactions, and the day after.
Via Twitter, Avenatti disseminated information about Cohen's receipt in 2017 of $500,000 from Columbus Nova, a company founded by a Russian billionaire, as well as payments to a Cohen company called Essential Consultants from other firms who do business with the federal government, including AT&T and aircraft manufacturer. The
The Treasury Department's Inspector General's Office announced after Avenatti's disclosure that it would be investigating the source of his information.
Fry, 54, is an investigative analyst with the law enforcement arm of the IRS, the Criminal Investigative Division. He has worked for the IRS since 2008.
According to the complaint, he conducted numerous searches related to Cohen, and downloaded five SARs, including one related to a bank account for Essential Consultants.
The federal complaint says Fry verbally admitted providing the information to Avenatti when he was confronted by federal agents.
In a statement, Avenatti told NBC News, "I have done nothing wrong and did not violate any law whatsoever, just like reporters don't violate the law when they do their jobs."