Avenatti loses appeal of 2022 conviction for stealing from Stormy Daniels

Former Stormy Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti on Wednesday lost an appeal of his 2022 conviction for stealing from his client.

A three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld the conviction. Avenatti had argued that court instructions to the jury improperly pressured them to reach a verdict, thought the panel rejected that argument, according to The Hill.

The court's language, they wrote "was not coercive... Nor was there anything improper, in these circumstances, about the district court’s decision to instruct the jury twice."

While representing Daniels, Avenatti stole $297,000 in funds due to her as part of a book deal. He was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to repay the sum as well as $148,000.

In December 2022, he received a 14-year prison sentence for tax and wire fraud, which he is serving concurrent with the Daniels conviction. He previously earned a 2.5-year sentence for attempting to extort Nike.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.