Porn star Stormy Daniels said that her former attorney, Michael Avenatti, faced a “reckoning” Thursday after he was sentenced to prison for attempting to extort Nike.
“He was a man you wanted to trust and believe in, but the longer I knew him I began witnessing his lies and dishonesty until I realized I too became his victim,” Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said in a statement Thursday on her Instagram. “I am sure today he found a reckoning. Let’s hope that that leads to a (sic) honest realization that he must change his life.”
Judge Paul Gardephe of the Southern District of New York sentenced Avenatti to 30 months in prison Thursday for attempting to extort Nike for tens of millions of dollars. Avenatte reportedly cried while making his final plea to the court.
“Mr. Avenatti’s conduct was outrageous. He hijacked his client’s claims, and he used those claims to further his own agenda — which was to extort millions of dollars from Nike to enrich himself,” Gardephe said while delivering Avenatti’s sentence. “Mr. Avenatti had become drunk on the power of his platform, or what he perceived the power of his platform to be. He had become someone who operated as if the laws and rules that apply to everyone else didn’t apply to him.”
Avenatti rose to prominence representing Daniels in her case against former President Donald Trump over a non-disclosure agreement and alleged hush money payments Trump made to the porn star. Avenatti quickly became a popular guest on network media and a leading figure in the opposition to Trump.
Avenatti has since fallen into disrepute after his conviction in the Nike case and indictment on charges in two other trials yet to take place. One of the trials involves his former client, Daniels, after she accused him of stealing a $300,000 book advance. The other case involved a slew of fraud charges and is set to take place in California later this year.
Last month, prosecutors led by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman argued that Avenatti deserved a “very substantial” prison sentence for attempting to extort Nike.
“The defendant, a prominent attorney and media personality with a large public following, betrayed his client and sought to enrich himself by weaponizing his public profile in an attempt to extort a publicly-traded company out of tens of millions of dollars. This was an egregious abuse of trust, and it warrants real and serious punishment,” the prosecutors wrote in a court filing.
Avenatti’s defense team pleaded with the judge for leniency in the case, arguing that Avenatti had faced enough public humiliation during the case already.
“Avenatti’s epic fall and public shaming has played out in front of the entire world. The Court may take judicial notice of this fact, as Avenatti’s cataclysmic fall has been well-documented. He is openly mocked by the former President of the United States and his preferred media outlets, to the glee of millions of the former President’s followers and supporters,” the attorneys wrote.
“He cannot go anywhere in public without inducing and subjecting himself to vitriolic comments and abuse. These circumstances alone would deter anyone in Avenatti’s shoes from engaging in similar conduct,” they said.