Federal prosecutors in New York have arrested and charged celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti with attempting to extort more than $20 million in payments from Nike by threatening to use his ability to garner publicity to inflict substantial financial and reputational harm on the company if his demands were not met.
Avenatti, 48, had previously represented adult film star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his former lawyer Michael Cohen.
According to the complaint, Avenatti threatened to hold a press conference on the eve of Nike's quarterly earnings call and the start of the NCAA men's basketball tournament at which he would announce allegations of misconduct by Nike employees.