Lawyer Michael Avenatti was sentenced to 14 years in prison for cheating clients out of millions of dollars.
Avenatti was also fined $10 million by U.S. District Judge James V. Selna who said Avenatti’s sentence will be served after he finishes a five-year term for separate convictions in New York.
who is already serving five years in prison for stealing book proceeds from porn actress Stormy Daniels and trying to extort Nike out of $25 million.
Avenatti pleaded guilty earlier this year to four counts of wire fraud and a tax-related charge despite not reaching a plea deal with federal prosecutors, saying he wanted to be accountable and spare his family further embarrassment. He was accused of negotiating and collecting settlement payments on behalf of his clients then funneling the money into accounts he controlled, and spending it on his own lavish lifestyle, including a private jet.
“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,” prosecutor Brett Sagel told the court in Santa Ana. “The defendant is just another criminal who thinks the law is something that applies to other people.”
His voice breaking, Avenatti apologized to the clients he bilked, including two who told the court about how losing the money and their trust in someone they thought had their back upended their lives.
“I am deeply remorseful and contrite,” Avenatti said. “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.”
Authorities in California said Avenatti carried out what amounted to a “sophisticated Ponzi scheme”
In one instance, prosecutors said Avenatti collected a $2.75 million settlement payment for a client and used much of the money to buy a private airplane.
In another, he collected a $4 million settlement from Los Angeles County for a man who suffered in-custody injuries and was left paraplegic after a suicide attempt, but never told him the money was received. Instead, authorities said Avenatti used the funds to finance his coffee business and pay personal expenses, and gave the man smaller amounts ranging from $1,000 to $1,900 that he called advances on the broader settlement.
The man, Geoffrey Johnson, told the court the deception was about more than money.
“I am not sure I ever can trust anyone else again,” Johnson said. “I continue to have nightmares that people are out to get me. My view of humanity has certainly changed, and not for the better.”
In addition to the prison sentence, Avenatti was ordered to pay more than $7 million in restitution to his clients and more than $3 million to the Internal Revenue Service. The government dropped all other remaining charges against Avenatti stemming from a 36-count indictment.
Authorities said the case against Avenatti started out as a civil tax issue but widened into a far-reaching criminal probe.
“He has also done great evil, for which he must answer,” the judge said before sentencing him. “It is now time to pay his debts to the victims, the government and society.”
