Michael Avenatti

Michael John Avenatti
Born:	February 16, 1971 Sacramento, California
Charges:	Wire fraud, Extortion, Aggravated identity theft, Tax fraud
Sentence:	19 years (reduced on appeal)
Facility:	FCI Terminal Island
Status:	Incarcerated

Michael John Avenatti (born February 16, 1971) is a disbarred American attorney who rocketed to national fame in 2018 as the lawyer for adult film actress Stormy Daniels in her battles against Donald Trump, before his stunning collapse when federal agents arrested him in March 2019 on serious criminal charges. He faced conviction in three separate federal cases: attempting to extort Nike for up to $25 million, stealing roughly $300,000 from Stormy Daniels through identity theft and wire fraud, and embezzling nearly $10 million from four other clients while also dodging over $3 million in payroll taxes. As of December 2025, Avenatti sits in Federal Correctional Institution Terminal Island in California, with release expected in 2035.

Current Status

Michael Avenatti is locked up at FCI Terminal Island as of December 2025. This low-security facility sits in San Pedro, California. His Bureau of Prisons number is 86743-054. When the Ninth Circuit cut his California sentence from 168 months to 135 months in June 2025, his release date shifted to 2035. He lost his California law license on February 5, 2025.

Summary

His arc from celebrated lawyer to convicted felon stands as one of the starkest falls in modern legal history. Avenatti was basically unknown outside legal circles in early 2018, despite racking up huge jury verdicts. By mid-2018? That changed completely. He'd become one of America's most visible figures, hitting cable news over 200 times in a single year as Stormy Daniels' aggressive lawyer and Trump's most prominent critic. He even talked about a 2020 presidential bid, and people took it seriously.

Then came the reckoning. In March 2019, federal prosecutors in New York and California filed charges against Avenatti simultaneously: extortion, fraud, embezzlement, you name it. The guy who'd painted himself as fighting for the underdog? He'd been stealing from his own clients. One was a paraplegic whose $4 million settlement Avenatti seized, dribbling out small chunks while pocketing the rest. Three trials between 2020 and 2022 left him convicted on every count, facing what amounts to nearly two decades in prison.

U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada nailed it: "This corrupt lawyer claimed he was fighting for the little guy. In fact, he only cared about his own selfish interests."

Background

Early Life and Education

Born February 16, 1971, in Sacramento, Michael John Avenatti came from an Italian family. His father managed operations for Anheuser-Busch. The family moved around early on, living in Colorado and Utah before settling in Chesterfield, Missouri, a St. Louis suburb, in 1982. He went to Parkway Central High School there.

Avenatti started at Saint Louis University but transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, earning his BA in political science in 1996. George Washington University Law School came next. He worked with Professor Jonathan Turley on constitutional questions around the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Graduating first in his class in 2000 with his JD and Order of the Coif membership was a real accomplishment.

George Washington made it official in 2003. They created the "Michael J. Avenatti Award for Excellence in Pre-Trial and Trial Advocacy" after he gave significant money to the school. That award would later become uncomfortable for them, once his convictions came down.

Legal Career

He started at O'Melveny & Myers, one of the country's top law firms, then joined Greene Broillet & Wheeler in Los Angeles. In 2007, he hung out his own shingle, founding Eagan Avenatti LLP, later renamed Avenatti & Associates. He built a name as a tough trial lawyer, pulling down multimillion-dollar verdicts against major corporations.

His wins included a $454 million jury verdict against KPMG in a fraud suit and representation in high-profile cases against big companies. He also handled celebrity clients and got involved in major litigation. Beyond the law, Avenatti raced professionally and even owned a racing team.

Rise to Fame: The Stormy Daniels Case

Everything shifted in February 2018. That's when Avenatti started representing Stephanie Clifford, professionally known as Stormy Daniels. She alleged she'd had an affair with Donald Trump in 2006. Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen had paid her $130,000 shortly before the 2016 election to keep quiet about it.

Avenatti argued the non-disclosure agreement was invalid because Trump never signed it himself. Suddenly he was everywhere in the media, slamming Trump at every turn. His aggressive style and willingness to fight publicly turned him into a cable news sensation. CNN, MSNBC and the rest had him on more than 200 times in 2018 alone. Trump opponents loved him.

At his peak, Avenatti visited Iowa and New Hampshire, spoke at Democratic rallies, and showed up in polls next to actual presidential candidates. He said in August 2018 that he was "seriously considering" a 2020 run, framing himself as the only guy who could beat Trump at his own game. Then December 2018 came. He announced he wasn't running after all, citing family reasons.

Criminal Cases

Case 1: Nike Extortion (New York)

March 25, 2019 brought the first arrest. Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York charged Avenatti with trying to shake down Nike. The charges involved Gary Franklin, a youth basketball coach from Los Angeles who represented kids Avenatti was representing and had intel on improper payments Nike made to elite amateur players.

Here's what happened. During a March 2019 meeting with Nike's lawyers, Avenatti demanded between $15 million and $25 million to run an "internal investigation." Or he'd take $22.5 million to shut up about the allegations. He threatened a damaging press conference and promised to leak everything to media if they refused. Nike didn't bite. They'd already reported his demands to federal prosecutors. The meetings were being recorded.

The jury convicted him on February 14, 2020 on all three counts: extortion, wire fraud, and interstate communications with extortion intent. Judge Paul G. Gardephe said straight out: "Avenatti hijacked his client's claims, and he used those claims to further his own agenda, which was to extort millions of dollars from Nike for himself."

On July 8, 2021, he got 30 months. The Supreme Court turned down his appeal in June 2024.

Case 2: Stormy Daniels Fraud (New York)

May 22, 2019 brought an indictment for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. His target this time? His most famous client, Stormy Daniels. While handling her book deal for "Full Disclosure," Avenatti forged her signature on paperwork that redirected her $297,500 advance to a bank account in his name. He spent it on his law firm payroll and his struggling coffee business, among other things.

Daniels testified about her devastation. She'd trusted him, considered him an ally in her fight against Trump. Finding out he'd stolen from her was crushing. A jury found him guilty on both counts on February 4, 2022. The identity theft charge meant a mandatory two years running separately from his other time.

June 2, 2022 brought sentencing: four years, with 18 months overlapping with his Nike time. Avenatti represented himself at trial and tried arguing he was owed money for his legal work. The jury wasn't buying it.

Case 3: Client Theft and Tax Fraud (California)

The California charges were the most sweeping. April 11, 2019 saw an indictment on 36 counts: wire fraud, bank fraud, bankruptcy fraud, tax crimes. On June 16, 2022, he pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud and one count of obstructing the Internal Revenue Code.

The stolen amounts and victims broke down like this:

Geoffrey Johnson: A paraplegic who won $4 million from Los Angeles County. Avenatti grabbed the whole thing, put it in his account, and gave Johnson small checks of no more than $1,900 each while keeping the rest. Johnson needed that settlement for medical care and living expenses. He was left with nothing.

Alexis Gardner: She got hit for $2.5 million from a $2.75 million settlement with an ex-boyfriend. Avenatti used the money to buy a private jet and handed her roughly $227,500 over a year instead of what she was actually owed.

Gregory Barela: From an intellectual property settlement, Avenatti took $1.6 million and gave Barela a fake settlement agreement to cover his tracks.

Michelle Phan and Long Tran: A stock sale worth $8.15 million got hit for $4 million. Avenatti made up fake wire transfer confirmations to hide what he'd done.

He also skipped out on $3.2 million in payroll taxes for Tully's Coffee, a coffee chain he'd bought that later went under.

December 5, 2022 brought sentencing from Judge James V. Selna: 168 months (14 years), to run after his New York time. Selna was blunt: "Avenatti has done great evil for which he must answer." He ordered him to pay $10,810,709 in restitution.

2025 Resentencing

The Ninth Circuit went after the California sentence in 2024. They found Judge Selna made an error by not accounting for the value of Avenatti's legal services, his costs, and what he'd already paid victims when calculating the theft amount. The appeals court also said the California sentence should run at the same time as, not after, his New York sentences.

June 12, 2025 saw Avenatti get resentenced to 135 months, a 33-month cut from the original. Still, Judge Selna made clear the crimes were "extraordinarily serious" and condemned his "abandonment of fairness." Counting time already served from New York, he's looking at release in 2035.

Prison Experience

Since January 2020, Avenatti's been locked up. After his Nike conviction, authorities took him into custody. He started at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York before transfer to FCI Terminal Island to face California charges.

FCI Terminal Island is a low-security facility on Terminal Island in Los Angeles Harbor. About 950 male inmates live there. Avenatti's been busy with legal work inside, representing himself in some proceedings and filing appeals in his cases.

Public Statements and Positions

He's gone back and forth. At California sentencing, Avenatti said he was sorry and acknowledged what he'd done. Still, he's claimed some sentences were too harsh and that his notoriety meant he got treated worse than other defendants.

Representing himself in trials and appeals, Avenatti showed real confidence in his legal skills despite the disbarment. His appeals have actually won some battles. The 2024 Ninth Circuit ruling that led to his resentencing proved that.

Terminology

• Wire Fraud: A federal crime involving electronic communications to pull off a fraud scheme. Maximum penalty is 20 years.

• Aggravated Identity Theft: Using someone else's identity to commit certain felonies. There's a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence.

• Extortion: Getting money through threats or coercion. Avenatti was convicted of trying to extort Nike by threatening damaging publicity.

• Disbarment: Permanent revocation of a lawyer's license to practice law, usually for serious ethical violations or criminal convictions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What did Michael Avenatti do?

Avenatti was convicted across three separate cases. He tried to extort Nike for up to $25 million by threatening to expose alleged payments to amateur basketball players. He stole about $300,000 from Stormy Daniels by forging her signature and rerouting her book advance. He also embezzled nearly $10 million from four other clients and didn't pay over $3 million in payroll taxes. Wire fraud, extortion, aggravated identity theft, and tax crimes were his convictions.

Q: How long is Michael Avenatti's prison sentence?

Across three federal cases, Avenatti drew roughly 19 years: 30 months for Nike extortion, 4 years for defrauding Stormy Daniels, and initially 14 years for client theft and tax fraud. His California sentence got reduced to 135 months following a 2025 appeal, with sentences running at the same time. He's scheduled for 2035 release.

Q: Where is Michael Avenatti now?

FCI Terminal Island in San Pedro, California is where Avenatti sits as of December 2025. It's a low-security prison. His Bureau of Prisons number is 86743-054. California disbarred him on February 5, 2025.

Q: Who did Michael Avenatti steal from?

He stole from multiple clients: roughly $300,000 from Stormy Daniels; $4 million from Geoffrey Johnson, a paraplegic settlement recipient; $2.75 million from Alexis Gardner, which he used for a private jet; $1.6 million from Gregory Barela; and $4 million from Michelle Phan and Long Tran. Courts ordered him to pay over $10.8 million in restitution.

Q: How did Michael Avenatti become famous?

He rose to fame in 2018 as Stormy Daniels' attorney in her Trump battles. Cable news made him a fixture, with over 200 appearances in a single year, and he became known as a prominent Trump critic. He briefly thought about running for president in 2020 before his March 2019 arrest.

Q: What was the Nike extortion case?

In March 2019, Avenatti threatened to hold a press conference exposing Nike's alleged payments to amateur basketball players unless they paid him up to $25 million. He represented a youth coach with knowledge of the payments but used his client's claims to demand personal cash. Nike reported him to prosecutors. February 2020 brought conviction and a 30-month sentence.

Q: Is Michael Avenatti still a lawyer?

No. California disbarred him on February 5, 2025, after his criminal convictions. Before the fall, he was a successful trial lawyer who won numerous multi-million dollar verdicts. George Washington Law School had created an award in his name for excellence in trial advocacy.

See also

• Michael Cohen
• Wire Fraud
• Tax Evasion
• FCI Terminal Island (low-security)
• FCI Otisville (minimum-security camp)