DISGRACED US celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti was sentenced to four years in prison for stealing US$300,000 (RM1.3 million) from porn actress Stormy Daniels, who was due the money for writing a book about her alleged tryst with Donald Trump.

Avenatti, who represented Daniels in her suit against the ex-president, was convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft following a trial in Manhattan in February.

The 51-year-old was already found guilty of trying to extort millions of dollars from sports apparel giant Nike in February 2020.

Avenatti is currently serving a 30-month sentence for the extortion.

In the Daniels case, New York judge Jesse Furman yesterday ruled that 30 months of the sentence should be served consecutively after the Nike sentence, with the remaining 18 months served concurrently.

Avenatti’s current predicament is a far cry from the dizzying heights of February 2018 to March 2019, when he was the lawyer for Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

He became a household name during her legal battles with Trump over hush money she received for an alleged affair with the then-real estate developer in 2006.

Revelling in his role as an outspoken critic of the president and darling of America’s left, Avenatti frequently appeared on camera and social media, raising suspicions that he harboured a run for the White House.

But while representing Daniels, he was also defrauding her.

He tricked literary agents into sending US$300,000 of an US$800,000 advance she received for a book called Full Disclosure into a bank account that he controlled, without her knowledge.

Avenatti then spent the money on personal and professional expenses, including plane tickets, restaurant meals and the lease of a Ferrari, said prosecutors.

He later paid back about half the money, or US$150,000.

Avenatti, representing himself during the trial, unsuccessfully argued that he was owed the payment. – AFP, June 3, 2022.