Avenatti Lands In Hot Water Over Fraud Accusations

You may have heard this name in regards to court cases for Stormy Daniels and the families of women that were abused by R. Kelly. High-profile lawyer Michael Avenatti became well-known for his criticism of President Trump and even considered running in the 2020 presidential election.

On Monday his luck changed when he was arrested in New York, a day after announcing that he would explain the details of the Nike meeting in a news conference. The prosecutor in this case, Geoffrey Berman said, “”A suit and tie does not mask the fact that, at its core, this was an old-fashioned shakedown.”

Avenetti met with his lawyer for Nike previously this month and during the meeting he attempted to blackmail Nike with information to damage the company unless they paid him and an unnamed accomplice for $15 to $20 million. Avenetti claimed that his blackmail could cost the company $10 billion in Nike’s market value and demanded $1.5 million for the client he claimed to be representing.

But this isn’t the only case against Avenetti, as he is charged with embezzling money from a client and defrauding a bank in Los Angeles. The said client was able to negotiate a deal with prosecutors for a $1.6 million settlement but gave him an unofficial agreement with a fake payment date.

Avenetti is due to appear in court on April 1 in California and April 25 in New York.