New York (AFP) - Disgraced US celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti was sentenced to four years in prison Thursday for stealing $300,000 from porn actress Stormy Daniels, who was due the money for writing a book about her alleged tryst with Donald Trump.
Avenatti, who represented Daniels in her lawsuit against the former president, was convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft following a trial in Manhattan in February.
The 51-year-old former California attorney had already been found guilty in February 2020 of trying to extort millions of dollars from sports apparel giant Nike.
Avenatti is currently serving a 30-month sentence for the Nike extortion.
In the Daniels case, New York judge Jesse Furman ruled that 30 months of the sentence should be served consecutively after the Nike sentence, with the remaining 18 months running concurrently.
Avenatti's current predicament is a far cry from the dizzying heights of February 2018 to March 2019 when he was the lawyer for Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
He became a household name during her legal battles with Trump over hush money she received for an alleged affair with the then-real estate developer in 2006.
Reveling in his role as an outspoken critic of the president and darling of America's left, Avenatti appeared frequently on camera and on social media, raising suspicions that he harbored a run for the White House.
But while representing Daniels, Avenatti was also defrauding her.
He tricked literary agents into sending $300,000 of an $800,000 advance she received for a book called "Full Disclosure" into a bank account that he controlled, without her knowledge.
Avenatti then spent the money on personal and professional expenses including plane tickets, restaurant meals and the lease of a Ferrari, prosecutors said.
He later paid back about half the money, or $150,000.Avenatti, representing himself during the trial, unsuccessfully argued that he was owed the payments.
