What did Michael Avenatti do? Former attorney sentenced to 14 years in prison

Former attorney Michael Avenatti was sentenced to 14 years in prison on December 5, after he confessed to defrauding millions of dollars from four different clients. The California court has also ordered Avenatti to pay $7 million to the former clients he defrauded.

As per CNBC, Avenatti is currently serving a 4-year sentence on separate charges of aggravated identity theft and wire fraud after being convicted of stealing from former client Stormy Daniels.

The disgraced former attorney was also sentenced to 30 months extortion charges in New York, bringing his combined sentence to about 5 years. As per the Guardian, US District Judge James Selna said Avenatti will serve the separate sentences consecutively.

Silicon Valley has named Alexis Gardner, Gregory Barela, and Geoffrey Johnson as three of the four clients that Avenatti allegedly stole from.

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The criminal history of Michael Avenatti

Before his fall from grace, Michael Avenatti was best known for his legal representation of celebrities. Most notably, in 2018, he filed a lawsuit on behalf of actress Stormy Daniels against Donald Trump, aiming to invalidate a non-disclosure agreement the then President had made her sign regarding an alleged 2006 affair.

Despite the recognition he received at the time, Avenatti faced legal trouble before the indictment that eventually led to his disbarment. Vox reported that in November 2018, the then-lawyer was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. Upon completion of the investigation, however, no charges were filed.

Avenatti's downfall began on March 25, 2019, after he was arrested for attempting to extort $25 million from Nike. On July 8, 2021, he was convicted on three counts of extortion in a New York court.

Along with the New York charges, Avenatti was also accused of wire fraud and bank fraud for allegedly stealing from several clients, including Stormy Daniels. According to CNN, he had stolen almost $300,000 in proceeds from a book Daniels had written about her alleged affair with Donald Trump.

According to the Guardian, California prosecutors also accused Avenatti of stealing the money from settlements he had filed on behalf of clients.

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Avenatti issues apology to former clients

Brett Sagel, the prosecutor in the case, noted that Michael Avenatti had defrauded clients despite his immense success as an attorney. He said:

“(Avenatti's behavior) arose from calculated choices and egregious violations of (...) trust. He didn’t turn to his criminal actions by desperation, by need, by the inability to do anything else."

Sagel continued:

“Despite the significant advantages that this defendant had – a first-rate education, a thriving legal career – he chose to commit the deplorable acts in this case time and time again.”

US attorney Martin Estrada noted that Avenatti had always portrayed himself as someone who represented the vulnerable:

"Michael Avenatti was a corrupt lawyer who claimed he was fighting for the little guy. In fact, he only cared about his own selfish interests. He stole millions of dollars from his clients -- all to finance his extravagant lifestyle that included a private jet and race cars."

After the December 5 sentencing, Avenatti apologized to his former clients:

“I am deeply remorseful and contrite. There is no doubt that all of them deserve much better, and I hope that someday they will accept my apologies and find it in their heart to forgive me.”

As per Silicon Valley, Michael Avenatti's fraud schemes were discovered after authorities began to investigate signs that the former lawyer was evading taxes.