Trump nemesis lawyer Michael Avenatti tried to extort more than $20 million from Nike, threatening to go public with damaging information unless the company paid him off, federal prosecutors announced in New York Monday.
Across the country in California, federal prosecutors brought a separate set of charges against Mr. Avenatti, accusing him of embezzling from a client, failing to file tax returns and obtaining loans by fraud.
Mr. Avenatti was arrested by FBI agents Monday, just minutes after he appeared to confirm the New York charges in a tweet announcing he would hold a press conference Tuesday to make his allegations against Nike, promising “to disclose a major high school/college basketball scandal.”
“This criminal conduct reaches the highest levels of Nike and involves some of the biggest names in college basketball,” Mr. Avenatti tweeted.
What the lawyer was really about was trying to get a $22.5 million payoff from Nike, said Geoffrey S. Berman, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
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07.12.2025