Disgraced Stormy Daniels Lawyer Michael Avenatti Moves From Federal Prison to Hollywood Halfway House

AP Photo/John Minchillo

Disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti was moved from federal prison this week to a halfway house in Hollywood while he finishes his sentence for extortion and other crimes.

TMZ was first to report on Wednesday that Avenatti had been moved from his cell in federal prison to a halfway house in Hollywood, where he will finish out his sentence until September 2028.

While Avenatti once found himself a prominent and sought-after critic of President Donald Trump, he’s since been convicted of multiple crimes, including an extortion scheme involving Nike and stealing money from clients, including arguably his most well-known client, adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Avenatti was best known for representing Daniels in her lawsuit against Trump. Trump has long denied having an affair with Daniels and knowing anything about “hush money” paid to her. The payments were allegedly made around the time Trump ran for president in 2016 in an effort to keep the news from influencing the election outcome.

In 2024, Trump was found guilty in a 34-count felony case where he was accused of falsifying business records to conceal payments made to Daniels.

Avenatti was sentenced in 2021 to 30 months over his Nike extortion scheme, which prosecutors said was for $25 million. He received another 48 months for theft and defrauding a client in 2022.

In total, Avenatti was ordered to serve just over 11 years and now four years in, he’ll have some freedom back by moving into a halfway house. He also needs to pay restitution that totals nearly $6 million. The halfway house will require participating in mental health programs and testing negative for any controlled substances.

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