Washington (CNN) A former Internal Revenue Service analyst pleaded guilty on Wednesday to illegally disclosing confidential reports about President Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen's bank records.

John C. Fry, who worked as an investigative analyst for the IRS's law enforcement arm, admitted he knowingly and willingly disclosed confidential information to celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti, his plea agreement says, according to a statement from the US attorney's office in the Northern District of California.

Fry faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to the Justice Department. US District Judge Edward M. Chen scheduled Fry's sentencing for December 18, 2019.

The former analyst admitted to accessing a private government database from his work computer on May 4, 2018, and downloading five suspicious activity reports, or SARs, related to Michael Cohen and his company Essential Consultants, authorities say. Banks file a SAR when they review transactions that raise red flags.

Fry, who admitted he had no official reason to disclose the records, then called Avenatti twice from his personal cell phone and verbally provided information about the contents of the reports, according to the Justice Department. Fry also sent email screenshots of the reports to Avenatti from a personal email account.

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