By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Michael Avenatti, the brash California lawyer who as soon as took on then-President Donald Trump, is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday for defrauding his best-known former consumer, the porn actress Stormy Daniels.

A federal jury in Manhattan convicted Avenatti in February of wire fraud and aggravated identification after a two week trial, agreeing that he embezzled practically $300,000 in ebook proceeds meant for Daniels.

Prosecutors really useful that Avenatti, 51, obtain a jail time period that was “substantial” however shorter than the roughly 5 or 6 years — together with a compulsory two-year time period for identification theft — really useful beneath federal pointers. nL2N2XJ18V]

They stated any time period ought to be on high of his 2-1/2-year sentence from his 2020 conviction for making an attempt to extort thousands and thousands of {dollars} from Nike Inc (NYSE:).

Avenatti, who represented himself, proposed a three-year sentence within the Daniels case, with one 12 months working concurrent together with his Nike sentence.

U.S. District Decide Jesse Furman is predicted to resolve Avenatti’s sentence at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT).

Avenatti turned a family title due to cable tv appearances whereas representing Daniels in lawsuits in opposition to Trump.

Daniels, whose given title is Stephanie Clifford, obtained $130,000 from Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, in trade for remaining quiet earlier than the 2016 presidential election about sexual encounters she says she had with Trump, which he has denied.

Avenatti freed Daniels from her nondisclosure settlement with Trump.

However his profession unraveled in 2019 when he was criminally charged in New York within the Nike case, and in California with stealing thousands and thousands of {dollars} from 5 different purchasers. The California case is ongoing following a mistrial final August.

Daniels testified that Avenatti “betrayed” her by diverting cash to an account he managed with out telling her.

Throughout cross-examination, Avenatti tried to undermine Daniels’ credibility by specializing in her curiosity in paranormal exercise. Daniels, who’s producing the TV challenge “Spooky Babes,” stated she might communicate with the lifeless.