Evaluating the rise and fall of Michael Avenatti
Michael Avenatti’s defense attorney Andrew Dalack and former federal prosecutor Francey Hakes react to Avenatti’s guilty plea to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges on ‘Unfiltered.’
Michael Avenatti was sentenced to 14 years in prison Monday for defrauding four former clients out of millions of dollars and trying to obstruct the IRS from collecting payroll taxes from a coffee shop he owned.
It ends with a shocking fall from grace for the former lawyer, who is already serving five years in prison for stealing the proceeds from porn actress Stormy Daniels’ book and trying to extort $25 million from Nike.
The 14-year sentence handed down Monday will run consecutively to the five years he has already served in previous cases, U.S. District Judge James V. Selna ruled.
Michael Avenatti speaks to members of the media after leaving federal court on February 4, 2022 in New York.
(AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
Avenatti, who addressed his victims in court Monday, was also ordered to pay $7 million in restitution.
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“I am deeply sorry and sorry,” Avenatti said in court before sentencing. “There is no doubt that they all deserve much better, and I hope that one day they will accept my apology and find it in their hearts to forgive me.”
Prosecutors exposed in a 36-count indictment how Avenatti collected a $4 million settlement from Los Angeles County for a man who was left paralyzed by injuries he sustained while in police custody. Avenatti used the funds for his coffee business and personal expenses, paying the man “advances” of no more than $1,900 at a time.
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Adult film actress Stormy Daniels, left, with her former attorney Michael Avenatti during a news conference.
(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
Avenatti secured a $3 million settlement for another client in early 2017 and used most of the money for a private jet, then lied to the client that the settlement would be paid in monthly payments over several years.
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Prosecutors also said Avenatti stole from clients he represented in an intellectual property claim and another business dispute.
On the tax fraud charge, Avenatti failed to pay more than $3 million in payroll taxes related to his coffee business and then tried to prevent the IRS from collecting the unpaid taxes.
Michael Avenatti speaks at the Iowa Democratic Wing Ding at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa on Friday, August 10, 2018.
(Chris Zoeller/Globe-Gazette via AP)
Prosecutor Brett Sagel characterized Avenatti as a serial con man.
“He did not resort to his criminal actions out of desperation, out of necessity, out of an inability to do otherwise,” Sagel told the court. “Despite the significant advantages this defendant had (a first-rate education, a prosperous legal career), he chose to commit the deplorable acts in this case over and over again.”
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Prosecutors agreed to drop the remaining charges after Avenatti pleaded guilty to five counts earlier this year.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
