https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/25/michael-avenatti-to-be-charged-with-wire-and-bank-fraud.html
Celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti has been arrested on charges related to an alleged $20 million extortion of the athletic apparel company Nike, federal authorities said Monday.
A press conference is scheduled to discuss the charges against Avenatti in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon. Avenatti is scheduled to be presented in Manhattan federal court on Monday.
Avenatti had represented porn star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his former lawyer Michael Cohen.
The charges were revealed less than an hour after Avenatti announced a press conference to discuss purported claims against Nike. An FBI agent said in the complaint that the lawyer had threatened to hold a press conference on the eve of Nike's quarterly earnings call.
A criminal complaint against Avenatti says he "devised a scheme to extort a company by means of an interstate communication by threatening to damage the company's reputation if the company did not agree to make multi-million dollar payments to Avenatti and [co-conspirator], and further agree to pay an additional $1.5 million to a client of Avenatti's."
The complaint says that last Wednesday, Avenatti and a cooperating witness spoke by phone with lawyers for Nike "during which Avenatti stated, with respect to his demands for payment of milions of dollars, that if those demands were not met 'I'll go take ten billion dollars off your client's market cap ... I'm not f---ing around.'"
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
Celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti has been arrested on charges related to an alleged $20 million extortion of the athletic apparel company Nike, federal authorities said Monday.
A press conference is scheduled to discuss the charges against Avenatti in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon. Avenatti is scheduled to be presented in Manhattan federal court on Monday.
Avenatti had represented porn star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his former lawyer Michael Cohen.
The charges were revealed less than an hour after Avenatti announced a press conference to discuss purported claims against Nike. An FBI agent said in the complaint that the lawyer had threatened to hold a press conference on the eve of Nike's quarterly earnings call.
A criminal complaint against Avenatti says he "devised a scheme to extort a company by means of an interstate communication by threatening to damage the company's reputation if the company did not agree to make multi-million dollar payments to Avenatti and [co-conspirator], and further agree to pay an additional $1.5 million to a client of Avenatti's."
The complaint says that last Wednesday, Avenatti and a cooperating witness spoke by phone with lawyers for Nike "during which Avenatti stated, with respect to his demands for payment of milions of dollars, that if those demands were not met 'I'll go take ten billion dollars off your client's market cap ... I'm not f---ing around.'"
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
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