The U.S. Supreme Court has denied celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti’s appeal to overturn his 2022 conviction for misappropriating nearly $300,000 in book proceeds intended for his former client, adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The decision, made on Tuesday, marks the second time in recent months that the high court has refused to review one of Avenatti’s criminal convictions.
Avenatti, once a prominent figure in the legal world, was convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in federal court in Manhattan. The charges stemmed from his diversion of payments intended for Daniels, whose memoir, Full Disclosure, had generated advance payments that Avenatti claimed never arrived. Evidence showed he forged Daniels’ signature to redirect the funds to his own accounts without her consent.
In his appeal, Avenatti argued that his conviction for aggravated identity theft should be overturned based on a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that limited the scope of the statute. However, the Manhattan-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction in March, stating the evidence against him was sufficient. Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision effectively ends his attempt to overturn the ruling.
Avenatti, 53, is currently serving a four-year prison sentence for the book proceeds case. The judge in his trial called his actions “brazen and egregious,” highlighting his betrayal of trust while representing himself during the two-week trial.
This legal loss adds to a growing list of Avenatti’s convictions. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court rejected his appeal in a separate case involving extortion and fraud against Nike, for which he is serving an additional two-and-a-half-year sentence. In 2022, Avenatti also pleaded guilty in California to defrauding four other clients, leading to an additional 14-year sentence.
Avenatti gained national attention when he represented Stormy Daniels in her legal battles against former President Donald Trump, related to allegations of a sexual encounter in 2006. Daniels was paid $130,000 in hush money by Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, ahead of the 2016 election, though Trump has consistently denied the allegations.
Avenatti’s fall from grace has been swift and steep, with his legal troubles overshadowing the notoriety he once enjoyed.
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