Lawyer Michael Avenatti, best known for his work representing Stormy Daniels against president Donald Trump, is facing federal charges over an attempt to extort Nike recently.
Avenatti allegedly tried to get more than $20 million from Nike after he threatened to go public with information he claimed to have about a high school and college basketball scandal. Nike contacted federal authorities and later contacted Avenatti by phone, catching him saying if he didn’t receive that payment he would “take ten billion dollars off your client’s market cap.”
Avenatti is now facing wire fraud charges and later on Monday, Nike released a statement confirming they contacted authorities, assisted in the investigation into Avenatti’s extortion attempt, and that they have been cooperating with the government’s investigation into college basketball for more than a year.
https://twitter.com/kevinmdraper/status/1110256730204762112
Nike is a global company that brings in billions of dollars each year, so of all the companies to try to extort they have to be on the list of the 10 worst ones to try, under any circumstance. On top of that, given that the FBI has been investigating illegal payments in college basketball recruiting by representatives of sneaker companies for more than a year, Nike has certainly been dealing with that so they’re not exactly unaware of potential issues on that front internally.
Trying to extort them not only brought federal charges into play for Avenatti, but also makes his client’s case seem less substantial in the public eye.
