Scruggs gained fame in the 1990s by using a corporate insider against tobacco companies in lawsuits that resulted in a $206 billion settlement. That case was portrayed in the 1999 film "The Insider."
Scruggs was indicted in November along with his son and a law partner after the FBI secretly recorded conversations about a plan to bribe a state court judge.
Scruggs and former law partner Sidney Backstrom pleaded guilty to conspiracy in March.
The judge handed down the full sentence requested by prosecutors. Scruggs must report to prison by Aug. 4.
