Los Angeles Times

Michael Avenatti gets 14 years in prison for stealing millions of dollars from clients

In this photo from July 23, 2019, celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti speaks to the media outside of a New York courthouse after a hearing in a case where he is accused of stealing $300,000 from a former client, an adult-film actress Stormy Daniels in New York City.

LOS ANGELES — Michael Avenatti, the once-swaggering celebrity lawyer who was undone by his proclivity for embezzlement and fraud, was sentenced Monday to 14 years in prison for dodging taxes and stealing millions of dollars from clients.

His sentencing by U.S. District Judge James V. Selna in Santa Ana concludes the last of three federal prosecutions of the former attorney, who gained notoriety for representing adult film star Stormy Daniels in her legal battles against former President Donald Trump.

Selna said Avenatti had accomplished “many noble and good things in his life,” but had “also done great evil.” He ordered him to pay nearly $8 million in restitution to victims.

Avenatti, 51, is already serving five years in prison for his extortion and

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