Disgraced attorney and former anti-Trump pundit Michael Avenatti has moved to Hollywood, California, to finish out his prison sentence in a halfway house following his conviction for various financial crimes.
Avenatti has been ordered to serve over two years in the halfway house in addition to participating in mental health treatment, and he must also stay away from unlawful controlled substances, TMZ reported.
He is projected to be fully released in September 2028 and must pay restitution of almost $6 million.
Avenatti was a frequent guest on CNN and represented Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against President Donald Trump.
He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison back in July 2021 for attempting to extort Nike and for defrauding multiple clients, according to the Justice Department.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said at the time that “Michael Avenatti used illegal and extortionate threats and betrayed one of his clients for the purpose of seeking to obtain millions of dollars for himself.”
“Not only did Avenatti attempt to weaponize his law license and celebrity to seek to extort payments for himself, he also defrauded his own client. Avenatti will now serve substantial time in prison for his criminal conduct,” Strauss added.
In June 2022, he was sentenced to 48 months in prison for identity theft and for defrauding Daniels by stealing part of her book advance, as well as spending almost $150,000 on personal and business expenses, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said.
“Lawyers have a duty to be loyal and advocates for their clients,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams remarked. “Far from being a loyal advocate for his client, Michael Avenatti stole his client’s identity and her money in order to line his own pockets. Now, Avenatti will serve a substantial prison sentence for his brazen crimes and betrayal of his client.”
A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California said that Avenatti was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison back in December 2022 for stealing millions of dollars from clients and for tax fraud.
The sentence came after he defrauded clients, one of whom “was a paraplegic with mental health issues,” and for obstructing IRS efforts to collect a tax debt from a business he owned.
United States District Judge James V. Selna, who sentenced Avenatti, said the disgraced lawyer “has done great evil for which he must answer” and ordered him to pay restitution in the amount of nearly $11 million to four different clients and the IRS.
“Michael Avenatti was a corrupt lawyer who claimed he was fighting for the little guy. In fact, he only cared about his own selfish interests,” United States Attorney Martin Estrada said.
Estrada added, “He stole millions of dollars from his clients — all to finance his extravagant lifestyle that included a private jet and race cars. As a result of his illegal acts, he has lost his right to practice law in California, and now he will serve a richly deserved prison sentence.”
CNN, and other anti-Trump networks, constantly showered praise and adulation on Avenatti and gave him coveted spots of air time.
Back in 2018, former CNN host Brian Stelter even suggested he’d make a strong candidate for president.
“And looking ahead to 2020, one reason I’m taking you seriously as a contender is because of your presence on cable news,” he told Avenatti.
In June 2025, Avenatti managed to get his prison term reduced following a resentencing hearing after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated his 14-year sentence back in October 2024, Fox News reported. He was disbarred in California in February 2025.
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