Avenatti accused of fraudulently extorting $25 million from Nike

California-based attorney Michael Avenatti’s alleged extortion of a grand $25 million from Nike Inc., according to US prosecutors, came at a time when he was $15 million in debt.

The lawyer, who previously represented porn star, Stormy Daniels, against Donald Trump is currently being sued for the action. The case’s prosecutors have filed in the U.S. District Court a claim that Avenatti’s debts were actually more than $15 million, to which the defendant has replied that the claims are completely inaccurate.

Avenatti says that the claims are absurd and anything that states a number even close to that is totally inaccurate. In fact, he has expressed enthusiasm for the trial to begin so he can prove that all of this information is completely false.

Current Charges On Avenatti

The lawyer has currently pleaded not guilty of the allegation that he threatened that he would reveal embarrassing information regarding how Nike gave improper payments to athletes if the sportswear giant didn’t pay him $25 million.

In fact, he has been accused of planning to hold a news conference about Nike’s treatment of new college basketball players in terms of payment and demanded that the company pay him or suffer the consequences.

The lawyer was arrested on March 25th with regard to the Nike case. Since then, he has been busy defending himself against several lawsuits- many of which have criminal charges. His trial in Nike’s case is scheduled for the end of January, which he claims that he is ready for.

The prosecutors did drop two conspiracy indictments in November against the lawyer but have not completely dropped the case. Avenatti was pleased to hear the news last month and hopes as things unravel, he will be fully exonerated and termed innocent.

Other Allegations Against The Lawyer

Avenatti has also been accused of stealing $300,000 from his previous client, Stormy Daniels. He is said to have taken the amount after assisting her in getting a book contract to tell her story. The porn star’s real name is Stephanie Clifford.

Michael has pleaded not guilty to this allegation as well. His other charges include wire fraud, bank fraud, and other monetary crimes, all of which he claims he is not guilty of.

Amidst the complications, Nike is still performing upbeat in the stock market. The stock has printed a record high of $101.15 on Thursday. Nike has traded above the opening level in 2019 so far.