Michael Avenatti sentenced to 4 years in prison for cheating porn star Stormy Daniels
NEW YORK - Michael Avenatti was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison for cheating client Stormy Daniels, the porn actor who catapulted him to fame, of hundreds of thousands of dollars in book proceeds.The California lawyer, currently incarcerated, learned his fate in Manhattan federal court, where Judge Jesse M.
Furman said the sentence will mean that Avenatti will spend another 2 1/2 years in prison on top of the 2 1/2 years he is already serving after another fraud conviction.The judge said Avenatti's crime against Daniels was made "out of desperation" when his law firm was struggling.
He called Avenatti's behavior "craven and egregious" and blamed it on "blind ambition."Prior to sentencing being announced, Avenatti, wearing his prison uniform, choked up several times as he delivered a lengthy statement, saying he had "disappointed scores of people and failed in a cataclysmic way."Get breaking news alerts in the free FOX5NY News app! | Sign up for FOX 5 email newslettersAt trial earlier this year, Avenatti represented himself, cross-examining his former client for hours about their experiences in early 2018, when she signed a book deal that provided an $800,000 payout.
Prosecutors said he illegally pocketed about $300,000 of her advance on "Full Disclosure," published in fall 2018.The book's publication came at a time when Avenatti's law practice was failing financially even as he appeared regularly on cable television news channels.
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