Michael Avenatti may have become a household name thanks to his work as Stormy Daniels' attorney in lawsuits against former President Donald Trump, but the past couple of years haven't been too kind to the celebrity lawyer. In March 2019, Avenatti was arrested and charged with extorting Nike after he allegedly demanded between $15 million and $25 million from them.
According to TMZ, the prosecution argued that the infamous lawyer told Nike's legal team that if they didn't pay him between $15 million and $25 million he would hold a news conference and allege misconduct by employees at the shoe company, and in 2020, Avenatti was ultimately found guilty of the charges brought against him.
Well over a year since receiving his guilty conviction, Michael Avenatti has finally been sentenced for his reported crimes this week. On Thursday, the disgraced lawyer and former presidential hopeful was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years of supervision following his release. Although Avenatti's lawyer described the sentence as "draconian" in a press conference, the presiding judge actually forwent the recommended sentence of 108-135 months.
According to TMZ, Michael Avenatti reportedly got emotional during the sentencing hearing while addressing the court, at one point even full-out weeping.
"I betrayed my profession," he said while during his address. "I became driven by the things that don’t matter in life. Over the last 2 years, I have often thought to myself, why did this need to happen? What lessons am I supposed to learn from this experience, from what I’ve done?"
"Your honor, I’ve learned that all the fame, notoriety, and money in the world is meaningless," Avenatti continued. "TV & Twitter mean nothing. Everyone wants to ride in a limo with you but very few are willing to sit next to you on the bus."
Despite his touching final statement, Avenatti was still sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. Check out Avenatti's press conference following his sentencing below;
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