Avenatti, a former Newport Beach resident, was already serving five years in prison for extortion and fraud convictions in New York.
The prison sentences mark a steep downfall for a once-successful lawyer who shot to fame for fiery denunciations of Trump on broadcast news and at one time mulled his own presidential prospects before facing the web of criminal allegations.
At times, he falsely claimed agreements hadn’t been finalized, prosecutors said, or paid out smaller amounts as “advances” on settlements the clients didn’t know had already been approved. In 2016, Avenatti hid the terms of a $2.75 million settlement from Alexis Gardner, who he was representing in a lawsuit against her ex-boyfriend, former NBA player Hassan Whiteside. Avenatti spent much of the money from the settlement on a private plane, prosecutors said. At the time, Gardner was living out of her car.
Prosecutors also described Avenatti as a tax cheat, saying he spent years obstructing the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to collect more than $3 million in payroll taxes from a coffee business he owned. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Sagel on Monday told the judge that he didn’t believe that Avenatti was truly remorseful. The prosecutor said Avenatti always considers himself to be “the smartest guy in the room,” capable of talking his way out of any sign of trouble.
He argued that his sentence was too long compared to those received by other federal defendants, and spent several minutes listing off the clients he had helped through successful civil lawsuits.
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