Avenatti Sentenced In Nike Extortion Case, Awaits Trial In OC

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Former celebrity attorney and Orange County resident Michael Avenatti will spend 2 1/2 years in federal prison after being found guilty in a Nike extortion case, court records show.

Avenatti was sentenced by a federal judge in New York Thursday, then immediately boarded a plane to return to Santa Ana to face trial again on charges of cheating his clients out of settlement money. Thursday's just over the 2-year sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe, was lighter-than-expected, according to Avenatti's lawyer.

Avenatti was found guilty of attempting to extort as much as $25 million from the shoe manufacturer giant earlier this year.

Federal prosecutors in New York sought up to 11 years in prison, Avenatti's Orange County attorney Dean Steward reported. A probation official recommended seven years, Steward said.

Jury selection is the next phase of Avenatti's most recent legal woes. Jurors in groups of 75 will be brought to the federal courthouse in Santa Ana on Tuesday and Wednesday to fill out questionnaires regarding their feelings about Avenatti and availability for a trial, Steward said.

"We expect a fair amount to say they can't do it because of who he is," Steward said.

Avenatti became notorious after launching himself and his celebrity clients into the public eye representing adult film actress Stormy Daniels in her dispute over a nondisclosure agreement with former President Donald Trump. Daniels alleged she had an affair with the former president, a claim Trump still denies.

The jurors in the Santa Ana trial will be questioned by attorneys and U.S. District Judge James Selna next week after attorneys can go over the questionnaires, Steward said. That could begin July 16 and continue through July 20, when opening statements in the trial were scheduled to begin, Steward said.

At a hearing on June 28, Selna said he wanted to give the pools of hundreds of prospective jurors a few days for the "market to absorb the news" of Avenatti's punishment in the Nike case before attorneys begin questioning them about their availability to hear evidence.

In the Santa Ana case, Avenatti is accused of cheating clients out of settlement money to pay his bills as expenses overwhelmed his profits.

If convicted in Santa Ana, he faces a similar sentence as the Nike case of a maximum of between 10 to 12 years, Steward said.

City News Service, Patch Editor Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.