California lawyer and contender in the 2020 Democrat primary Michael Avenatti was sentenced to four years in prison on Thursday for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his former client, adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
In Manhattan federal court, Judge Jesse M. Furman said Avenatti will spend another two-and-a-half years behind bars on top of the 30 months he’s already spent in prison for attempting to extort more than $20 million from Nike, The Associated Press reported.
The disgraced attorney was also ordered to pay $148,750 to Daniels and $297,900 to the US.
Furman said Avenatti stole nearly $300,000 from Daniels “out of desperation” in the face of his struggling law firm. The judge said Avenatti’s behavior was “craven and egregious” motivated by “blind ambition,” adding that he “took advantage of a vulnerable victim given her unorthodox career and somewhat unorthodox beliefs,” according to CNN.
“I hope you put your formidable talents to better use,” Furman told Avenatti, adding that the case was “tragic, sad” and that the defendant “is quite smart and has formidable legal skills. What changed? I don’t know the answer to that question.”
The judge added that he hoped the sentence “will send a message to lawyers” that they will lose their profession and freedom if they break the law.
In February, Avenatti was convicted of one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, facing nearly 22 years in prison for the pair of convictions.
“I have destroyed my career, my relationships and my reputation and have done collateral damage to my family and my life,” Avenatti said. “There is no doubt I made a series of mistakes and exercised poor judgment.”
Earlier this year, Avenatti represented himself during the trial where prosecutors accused Avenatti of illegally obtaining $300,000 in Ms. Daniels’ book deal advance, which guaranteed an $800,000 payout.
After his conviction, prosecutors recalled Avenatti’s “extremely lengthy” cross-examination of Daniels, during which he “berated his victim for lewd language and being a difficult client, questioned her invasively about marital and familial difficulties, and sought to cast her as crazy, much as he did during the course of his fraud to prevent her own agent and publisher from responding to her pleas for help.”
“The defendant certainly had every right to defend himself at trial. But he is not entitled to a benefit for showing remorse, having done so only when convenient and only after seeking to humiliate his victim at a public trial, and denigrating and insulting her for months to her agent and publisher while holding himself out as taking up her cause against the powerful who might have taken advantage of her,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing submission.
Prosecutors argued Avenatti should face “substantial” time in prison.
