Judge Will Reconsider Ex-Stormy Daniels Lawyer Michael Avenatti’s 14-Year Prison Sentence for Fraud

A federal appeals panel found that the lower court had made several errors while calculating the amount Avenatti’s victims lost.

AP/Richard Drew
Michael Avenatti speaks to the press as he leaves federal court in New York in 2019. AP/Richard Drew

A federal appeals panel has ordered a re-sentencing for disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti, who is best known for representing adult film actress Stormy Daniels in her non-disclosure lawsuit against President Trump, after he was found guilty of swindling millions from his California clients. 

The three-judge panel vacated Avenatti’s 14-year sentence after concluding that the lower court had based its ruling on an overestimation of the loss incurred by Avenatti’s clients and the calculation failed to account for the value of his legal service. 

The former California attorney pleaded guilty in 2022 to four counts of wire fraud and a tax violation. He did not make a plea deal with federal prosecutors. 

“I am thankful that a unanimous three judge panel of the 9th Circuit threw out my draconian prison sentence today,” Avenatti said in a statement. “The sentence was always grossly unjust and violative of my most basic constitutional rights, but the government sought it anyway solely because of who I am. We all deserve due process.”

The latest ruling may shave off some prison time for Avenatti who has been serving a combined 19-year prison term. Avenatti was handed a four-year prison sentence in 2022 after he was found guilty of scheming to steal nearly $300,000 in proceeds from Ms. Daniels’ tell-all book contract, and for forging her signature in a message sent to her literary agent. 

On top of that, Avenatti had already been serving a 30 month sentence for a 2020 federal conviction for attempting to extort Nike for $25 million by threatening to plague the company with bad publicity.

Avenatti will be re-sentenced by a Santa Ana, California, district judge, James Selna. 


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