Disgraced Lawyer Michael Avenatti Sentenced For Defrauding Stormy Daniels

Disbarred attorney Michael Avenatti was sentenced to four years in prison for defrauding his former client Stormy Daniels out of $300,000. In addition, he was ordered to pay $148,750 to Daniels and $297,900 to the United States.

Avenatti was convicted of aggravated identity fraud and wire fraud for redirecting nearly $300,000 of an $800,000 advance from a book publisher meant for Daniels to a bank account that he controlled. He used a fake letter, purportedly from Daniels, to convince the publisher to transfer the money into his account.

Avenatti is currently serving a 30-month prison sentence for attempting to extort over $20 million from Nike. A judge ruled that 18 months of the Daniels sentence will run concurrently with the Nike sentence, bringing his total time in prison to five years.

Avenatti will be transferred from prison in New York to California, where he will await a retrial on charges that he embezzled $10 million from at least five different clients. The disgraced lawyer is also facing charges of tax fraud and bankruptcy fraud.