BREAKING: Michael Avenatti is temporarily released from prison on $1m bond after he claimed a recent ’bout of pneumonia’ put him at risk from coronavirus
Attorney Michael Avenatti, who represented adult film actress Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against President Donald Trump, was granted temporary release from his New York City prison on Friday due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Avenatti, 49, claimed that a recent bout if pneumonia in September puts him at greater risk for contracting the coronavirus.
He will be released from the Metropolitan Correctional Center on a $1million bond and placed into quarantine for 14 days at a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to ensure he’s not infected with the coronavirus.
Avenatti’s was posted by Hubert Bromma, who wrote a book titled ‘How to Invest in Offshore Real Estate and Pay Little or No Taxes.’
ABC News reports that once he’s completed the mandated quarantine, Avenatti will be allowed to leave for Los Angeles to stay at a friend’s home for 90 days.
A federal California judge, who granted Avenatti’s release, has ordered that he will not be allowed out of the home except for emergencies and must wear a monitoring bracelet.
He also can’t use the internet, make financial transactions of more than $500 or open a new bank or credit accounts.
Avenatti was initially denied temporary release in late March after U.S. District Court Judge James Selna found no credible reason to remove him from custody.
In addition to the pneumonia, Avenatti claimed that his cell mate in was recently removed after showing symptoms like a fever and severe cough, Politico reports.
In February, Avenatti was convicted for attempting to extort Nike. A jury found his guilty of extortion, wire fraud and transmitting a threat in interstate communications charges.