A federal judge sentenced disbarred attorney Michael Avenatti to four years in prison for stealing around $300,000 from his former client Stormy Daniels in New York on Thursday.
Avenatti was convicted in February of wire fraud and identity theft for stealing $300,000 of book revenue for Daniels’ book “Full Disclosure.” He was sentenced to 30 months in prison last July for an extortion scheme against Nike. (RELATED: Avenatti’s Lawyers Ask For Light Sentence Since His ‘Epic Fall And Public Shaming’ Was Punishing Enough)
Avenatti represented himself in his trial and made headlines in January after confronting Daniels about some comments she had made about prison rape and paranormal activity. Avenatti claimed that Daniels had said, referring to Avenatti, “there will be a long line of people to ass-rape me,” and that she believed herself to be a medium to non-living spirits. Daniels did not deny making the statements.
Avenatti had represented Daniels in 2018 when she was seeking to free herself from a nondisclosure agreement which kept her from detailing an alleged affair she had with then-president Donald Trump.
Avenatti was touted as a favorite presidential candidate of the left back in 2018. Ana Navarro said Avenatti was, “like the Holy Spirit” on ABC’s “The View.” Joy Behar called him, “the Savior of the Republic” and Bill Maher said, “You’re something of a folk hero.” CNN’s Brian Stelter said he hoped Avenatti would run for president.
At the height of Avenatti’s fame in 2018, Fox News host and Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson invited Avenatti onto his show and pressed him his financial dealings. When Avenatti accused Carlson of “demeaning” Daniels, Carlson responded, “I’m not demeaning her. You’re the one who’s profiting,” asking later, “Why are you rich and your client is working in seedy strip clubs?”