Stormy Daniels and attorney Michael Avenatti are seen at The Abbey on May 23, 2018 in West Hollywood, California.
Tara Ziemba | Getty Images
A federal judge in New York on Thursday sentenced disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti to four years in prison for stealing from his former client, onetime adult film actor Stormy Daniels, who wrote an explosive 2018 book.
U.S. District Court Judge Jesse Furman said Avenatti, already in custody on another conviction, could have 30 months of those four years run concurrently with his current sentence on that other matter.
The defendant had proposed that he be sentenced to three years in prison, while prosecutors had sought four years behind bars.
In February, Avenatti was convicted of wire fraud and identity theft for pocketing about $300,000 of the $800,000 advance that Daniels was paid for her book, “Full Disclosure,” which included details about an alleged affair she had with Donald Trump before he was president.
Avenatti is already in custody, following his 2020 conviction for extortion, transmission of interstate communications with intent to extort and wire fraud in connection with threats he made against the sports equipment giant Nike.
He was sentenced to 2½ years behind bars for those crimes.
Avenatti was once one of cable television’s most prolific pundits, regularly appearing on news shows to speak for Daniels and criticize then-President Trump, who was accused of paying hush money to the former actor.
