Michael Avenatti, the attorney who rose to prominence for representing adult film actress Stormy Daniels in her suit against former President Donald Trump, was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison on Monday for stealing millions of dollars from clients and trying to obstruct the IRS from collecting taxes from a coffee shop that he owned.
Avenatti is already serving five years in prison for stealing book proceeds from Stormy Daniels and trying to extort Nike out of $25 million. The 14-year sentence that he received on Monday will run consecutively to the five years that he is currently serving, U.S. District Judge James V. Selna ruled.
He was also ordered to pay more than $7 million to his four victims, one of whom is a paraplegic man.
“I am deeply remorseful and contrite,” Avenatti said in court before the sentencing. “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.”
The attorney who was once beloved by many liberal figures in the media and who was heavily encouraged by the left to run for president against Trump, will be serving his 14-year sentence in California after completing his five-year sentence in New York.
