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Michael Avenatti Found Guilty For Multi-Million Dollar Nike Extortion Scheme
By
Sydney Pereira
Published Feb 14, 2020
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Mark Lennihan/AP/Shutterstock
By
Sydney Pereira
Published Feb 14, 2020
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Attorney Michael Avenatti was found guilty of perpetrating a multimillion dollar extortion scheme against Nike nearly one year after he was arrested for federal extortion.
Avenatti, known for representing adult film star Stormy Daniels in a lawsuit against President Donald Trump, was arrested for attempting to extort more than $20 million from Nike after threatening the athletic apparel company with reputational harm last March in Manhattan.
A jury found him guilty on three charges: extortion, making a threat in an interstate phone call, and honest services wire fraud.
He faces up to 42 years in prison, pending what a judge decides at the sentencing on June 17th, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York confirmed.
"Today a unanimous jury found Michael Avenatti guilty of misusing his client's information in an effort to extort tens of millions of dollars from athletic apparel company Nike," U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said in a statement.
According to prosecutors, Avenatti threatened to announce misconduct allegations before Nike's quarterly earnings call as well as the NCAA men's basketball tournament. As a part of the scheme, he demanded the company pay him and an unnamed co-conspirator over $20 million to keep them from going to the press with allegations that Nike illegally paid out money to high school basketball players.
Nike contacted law enforcement, which listened in on a call a day later with Avenatti, who doubled down on his threat. Avenatti threatened: "I'll go and I'll go take ten billion dollars off your client's market cap. But I'm not f---ing around."
"A few million dollars doesn’t move the needle for me. I’m just being really frank with you. So if that’s what, if that’s what’s being contemplated, then let’s just say it was good to meet you, and we’re done. And I’ll proceed with my press conference tomorrow," prosecutors said Avenatti threatened in the call. He later tweeted an ominous news article about a corruption trial regarding Nike's competitor, writing the "scandal" is "likely far far broader than imagined."
"While the defendant may have tried to hide behind legal terms and a suit and tie, the jury clearly saw the defendant's scheme for what it was—an old fashioned shakedown," Berman said.
Nike said Friday afternoon, "The verdict speaks volumes."
His defense lawyer Howard Srebnick did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. During the trial, Srebnick argued that Avenatti had "acted in good faith" on behalf of his client. Today Srebnick told reporters outside court, "Of course there will be an appeal."
After the verdict, Avenatti was taken back to Manhattan Correctional Center, the high-security federal prison in Manhattan that has also housed El Chapo (Avenatti is being held in solitary confinement in his old cell) and Jeffrey Epstein. He will be back in the same courthouse in April, the Post reports, to face trial on charges that he stole almost $300,000 from Daniels through her memoir Full Disclosure. He also faces additional criminal charges in California brought by other clients who allege he stole from them.
Tagged
fraud
extortion
michael avenatti
southern district of new york
Sydney Pereira
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