FILE - Stormy Daniels and her attorney Michael Avenatti leave federal court in New York, on April 16, 2018. Avenatti was sentenced Thursday, June, 2, 2020, to four years in prison for cheating client Stormy Daniels, the porn actor who catapulted him to fame, of hundreds of thousands of dollars in book proceeds. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Stormy Daniels, Michael Avenatti
NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Avenatti has been sentenced to four years in prison for cheating Stormy Daniels out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in book proceeds at the height of his famed clash with then-President Donald Trump. The currently incarcerated California lawyer learned his fate Thursday in Manhattan federal court. At trial earlier this year, Avenatti represented himself and cross-examined Daniels for hours. Prosecutors said he pocketed $300,000 of her advance in a book deal that provided an $800,000 payout. He’s already serving a 2 1/2-year sentence for trying to extort Nike. The effect of the latest sentence will mean he will spend 2 1/2 more years in prison.
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