Former Dentons associate is sentenced to prison after misdemeanor plea in alleged extortion plot
A former Dentons associate has been sentenced to five months in prison after pleading guilty to a lesser charge in an alleged extortion plot against his law firm.
Michael Potere was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to the misdemeanor charge of accessing a computer without authorization, Law360 reports in an article noted by Above the Law.
Potere was originally accused of trying to extort $210,000 from his law firm. Prosecutors said he threatened to leak law firm documents to the blog Above the Law, unless the firm paid him the money and gave him a piece of artwork.
During the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge John Walter said Potere’s conduct appeared to stem from anger management issues. He sentenced Potere to one year of supervised release in addition to the five-month prison sentence. Prosecutors had sought a three-month sentence.
Potere gave a statement about his struggles with mental health issues, according to the Law360 coverage. He is receiving therapy and has two lower-stress jobs at a startup and as a paralegal.
