Disgraced Lawyer Michael Avenatti to Appeal Fraud Sentence in Pasadena Courtroom

Michael Avenatti, the suspended lawyer who once represented adult film actress Stormy Daniels, is set to appeal aspects of his case on Thursday in a Pasadena courtroom following his 14-year prison sentence for wire fraud and tax obstruction.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will hear arguments in Avenatti’s appeal at 9 a.m. in Courtroom 3 of the Richard H. Chambers courthouse on Grand Ave. in West Pasadena.  The hearing will be livestreamed on YouTube.

Avenatti, a former Newport Beach resident now in federal custody, pleaded guilty to embezzling millions from clients and obstructing Internal Revenue Service efforts to collect unpaid taxes. In December 2022, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison and ordered to pay $7.6 million in restitution to victims and $3.2 million to the government.

The case stems from Avenatti’s guilty plea to four counts of wire fraud for stealing money from clients and one count of obstructing collection of payroll taxes from his Seattle coffee business. Prosecutors said he obstructed Internal Revenue Service efforts to collect over $3.2 million in unpaid payroll taxes, including money withheld from employee paychecks.

One of Avenatti’s victims was Geoffrey Ernest Johnson, a mentally ill paraplegic on disability. Prosecutors said Avenatti stole the majority of Johnson’s $4 million settlement from Los Angeles County.

The sentence runs consecutively to a five-year term Avenatti is already serving for separate convictions in New York, including an attempt to extort Nike and defrauding Daniels of book proceeds. The Supreme Court recently declined to review Avenatti’s conviction in the Nike case.

United States Attorney Martin Estrada described Avenatti as a “corrupt lawyer” who prioritized his own interests over those of his clients.

Avenatti’s defense attorney, Dean Steward, argued the 14-year sentence was “overly harsh and uncalled for.” Some legal experts, including CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig, also considered the sentence “extraordinarily long given all the circumstances.”

The disgraced lawyer, who once considered a presidential run, has been suspended from practicing law in California. He is currently incarcerated at a federal corrections facility in San Pedro, California, with a projected release date in 2035.

The State Bar of California has filed to involuntarily enroll Avenatti as an inactive member due to his convictions and alleged professional misconduct.