Saturday, 18 Jan 2025

Donald Trump's arch-enemy Michael Avenatti convicted of $25m Nike scam

A lawyer famed for being one of Donald Trump’s most vociferous critics has been found guilty of trying to extort $25million from Nike.

Michael Avenatti was convicted of all charges he faced by a jury in Manhattan on Friday, and now faces up to 20 years behind bars.

He demanded that Nike pay one of his clients $1.5million and compensate him as well as an unnamed co-conspirator to the tune of $15m-25m in return for an ‘internal investigation’ into the Oregon-based sportswear giant.

Avenatti, who has debts of $11million, met with Nike bosses in March claiming he was representing a youth basketball coach who alleged that Nike workers had been making illicit payments to families of high school sports stars.

The lawyer then threatened to hold a news conference exposing the allegations unless Nike met his financial demands.

He told Nike reps: ‘I’m not fucking around with this, and I’m not continuing to play games.

‘You guys know enough now to know you’ve got a serious problem.

‘And it’s worth more in exposure to me to just blow the lid on this thing.

‘A few million dollars doesn’t move the needle for me.’

The disgraced lawyer was arrested later that month, just 15 minutes after tweeting plans to hold a press conference to expose Nike’s alleged wrongdoing the next day.

Avenatti shot to fame in 2017 as the lawyer who represented Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress who claims to have had a one night stand with President Trump.

Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, claims to have spent the night with Trump in 2006, shortly after the president’s third wife Melania gave birth to their son Barron.

Trump has denied the claims.

His former fixer Michael Cohen is currently serving a three year sentence for paying Daniels $110,000 ‘hush money’ not to repeat her claims 11 days before the 2016 presidential election.

Avenatti will be sentenced at a later date.

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