Harvey Weinstein, the media mogul at the center of sexual harassment and rape allegations, has hired criminal defense attorneys Benjamin Brafman in New York and Blair Berk in California.

According to media reports in the last week, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office is preparing an indictment against Weinstein. The claims of actress Paz de la Huerta, in particular, have been the focus of investigators, according to multiple media reports.

Harvey Weinstein
Credit: David Shankbone, Flickr Creative Commons

However, a spokesperson for Weinstein said in a statement Wednesday, “We do not believe an indictment of Mr. Weinstein is imminent.” The spokesperson added that “a formal presentation will be made on Mr. Weinstein's behalf in the appropriate course of the investigation, and we strongly believe we will demonstrate that no criminal charges are warranted.”

The Weinstein spokesperson said Berk, of Tarlow & Berk in West Hollywood, California, and Brafman, of Brafman & Associates in New York, “will be defending Mr. Weinstein in any matters in New York.”

Brafman is well known for representing a string of infamous New York defendants, including, most recently, Martin Shkreli, the former pharmaceutical executive who was convicted of securities fraud this summer. Brafman represented former International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, whose sexual assault charges were dropped by Manhattan prosecutors.

Berk is also known for representing Hollywood stars in trouble, such as Mel Gibson, Britney Spears and Kiefer Sutherland.