Celebrity lawyer turned criminal defendant Michael Avenatti was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison on Thursday for trying to blackmail more than $20 million from Nike.
Avenatti, 50, was found guilty of all three counts of extortion, transmission of interstate communications for the purpose of extortion, and wire fraud in February 2020 by a New York Federal Court.
“Mr. Avenatti was drunk by the power of his platform,” Judge Gardephe said in Manhattan Federal Court.
Avenati, As a lawyer for pornographic actress Stormi Daniels, he gained national attention, Threatened to expose what he called Nike’s corruption of high school basketball players. The defense argued that he just adopted a tough negotiation strategy.
The evidence provided in the trial showed another situation. Avenatti clearly told Nike attorneys that he will hold a press conference, claiming that the company illegally paid player fees unless they paid him for an international investigation.
In court on Thursday, Avenatti cried and choked while giving a speech. CNN report.
“I betrayed my own values, my friends, my family and myself,” he said. “I, alone, ruined my career, relationships and life.”
He received a sentence lower than the imprisonment of 108 to 135 months recommended in the sentencing guidelines. This is still higher than the six months required by his defense team.
Avenatti still faces two other criminal prosecution trials-one in New York Accused him of deceiving his former client Daniels Another in California Suspected of defrauding other customers His law firm.
