Michael Avenatti Gets 14 Years in Prison for Stealing Millions from Clients
Stormy Daniels’s Former Lawyer Used $2.5M of Stolen Cash Toward Private Jet Hangared in Santa Barbara Airport
Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who represented adult film actress Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against Donald Trump, was sentenced on Monday to 14 years in federal prison for stealing millions of dollars from his clients and for obstructing the IRS’s efforts to collect more than $3 million in payroll taxes from an Avenatti-owned coffee business, according to the California State Attorney General’s Office.
“Michael Avenatti violated the trust placed in him by his clients. Instead of helping his clients receive the compensation that they were owed and needed, he pocketed the money, stealing from people who were already hurting,” stated Tyler Hatcher, the Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The money was used to fuel a lavish lifestyle that had no limits.”
Some of that stolen cash — $2.5 million, to be exact — paid for a portion of Avenatti’s private jet that was hangared at the Santa Barbara Airport (SBA). The funds came out of settlement money awarded to Alexis Gardner, one of Avenatti’s four clients named in the lawsuit. In 2016, Gardner, a full-time theater student, was living out of her car and sought help from Avenatti.
