A federal judge Monday pushed back disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti’s sentencing for trying to shakedown nearly $25 million from Nike due to the spike in COVID-19 infections.
It marked the fourth sentencing adjournment in the case — and was granted over the objection of Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky, who said a number of in-person proceedings had been safely conducted in Manhattan federal court.
U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe’s one-page order delayed the sentencing currently scheduled for Dec. 9 to Feb. 17, 2021. Avenatti faces up to 42 years behind bars.
Lawyers for the embattled attorney, who has been riding out the pandemic in home confinement in Venice, California, had argued that cumbersome coronavirus protocols made it difficult to travel to New York.
Avenatti, who represented porn star Stormy Daniels in a failed suit against President Trump, faces three more trials on both coasts.
Manhattan prosecutors plan to try him next year for allegedly ripping off $300,000 from Daniels, who claims to have had a pre-White House affair with Trump. He also has two upcoming trials in California for allegedly stealing from other clients and committing bank and tax fraud.