US lawyer Michael Avenatti will get 4 years in jail for defrauding Stormy Daniels

Michael Avenatti, the brash California lawyer who as soon as took on then-President Donald Trump, was sentenced on Thursday to 4 years in jail for defrauding his best-known former consumer, the porn actress Stormy Daniels.

A federal jury had convicted Avenatti in February of wire fraud and aggravated id after a two-week trial, agreeing with prosecutors that he embezzled almost $300,000 in ebook proceeds meant for Daniels.

US District Judge Jesse Furman imposed the sentence in federal courtroom in Manhattan. Avenatti, 51, had already been serving a 2-1/2-year sentence stemming from his 2020 conviction for making an attempt to extort tens of millions of {dollars} from Nike Inc.

Eighteen months of the Daniels sentence will run concurrent with the Nike sentence, that means Avenatti faces a mixed 5 years in jail.

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“I have destroyed my career, my relationships and my reputation,” Avenatti instructed Furman earlier than being sentenced within the Daniels case.

Prosecutors had really useful that Avenatti obtain a “substantial” jail time period, together with a compulsory two-year time period for id theft.

Avenatti, who represented himself, proposed a three-year sentence within the Daniels case, with one 12 months operating concurrent together with his Nike sentence.

He wore beige jail garb and blue sneakers to the sentencing, after Furman rejected his request that he be allowed to put on a go well with.

Avenatti grew to become a family identify due to cable tv appearances whereas representing Daniels in lawsuits towards Trump.

Daniels, whose given identify is Stephanie Clifford, acquired $130,000 from Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, in trade for remaining quiet earlier than the 2016 presidential election about sexual encounters she says she had with Trump, which he has denied. Avenatti freed Daniels from her nondisclosure settlement with Trump.

But his profession unravelled in 2019 when he was criminally charged in New York within the Nike case, and in California with stealing tens of millions of {dollars} from 5 different shoppers.

The California case is ongoing following a mistrial final August. Daniels testified that Avenatti “betrayed” her by diverting cash to an account he managed with out telling her.

During cross-examination, Avenatti tried to undermine Daniels’ credibility by specializing in her curiosity in paranormal exercise. Daniels, who’s producing the TV mission “Spooky Babes,” stated she may communicate with the useless.