‘I’m nervous, I’m concerned, I’m scared’: Michael Avenatti admits he’s worried at the thought of spending the rest of his life behind bars after being accused of trying to extort Nike out of $25m and embezzling from a client

• Michael Avenatti admitted he’s feeling ‘nervous and scared’ in his first interview since being charged with federal counts of fraud and extortion
• Avenatti was formally accused of trying to extort $25 million from Nike on Monday to buy his silence regarding fraudulent payments to college athletes
• In a separate lawsuit, prosecutors in CA charged Avenatti lying to one of his clients about a settlement claim and for committing bank fraud
• Avenatti named Phoenix Suns player DeAndre Ayton and his family of taking inappropriate payments from Nike
•  In a statement on Monday, Nike said it ‘has been cooperating with the government’s investigation into NCAA basketball for over a year’
• Famed for representing Stormy Daniels, the ex-pornstar revealed she had fired Avenatti last month for being ‘extremely dishonest’
• If convicted of all counts, Avenatti faces almost 100 years in prison and possible disbarment as a lawyer

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Stormy Daniel’s former attorney Michael Avenatti admitted he’s feeling ‘nervous and scared’ in his first interview since being charged with federal counts of fraud and extortion.

Avenatti was formally accused of trying to extort $25 million from Nike on Monday, after the sportswear brand claim the New York-based lawyer repeatedly threatened to release unfavorable information about the company unless they paid for his silence.

In a separate lawsuit, prosecutors in California charged Avenatti with wire and bank fraud for allegedly lying to one of his clients about the amount of a settlement claim, and for using falsified tax returns to obtain bank loans.

If convicted of all charges, Avenatti potentially faces the rest of his life behind bars.

‘Of course I’m nervous,’ Avenatti told CBS News on Tuesday regarding the seriousness of the allegations. ‘I’m nervous, I’m concerned, I’m scared.’

‘I feel terrible for my family, I feel bad by my friends,’ he continued. ‘Most are sticking by me because they know what I’m about. I feel very fortunate in that regard,’

https://youtube.com/watch?v=nXvXjQv3E-Y%3Ffeature%3Doembed

‘Of course I’m nervous,’ Avenatti told CBS News on Tuesday regarding the seriousness of the allegations. ‘I’m nervous, I’m concerned, I’m scared.’

Avenatti was formally accused of trying to extort $25 million from Nike on Monday, as well as defrauding a client in California and committing bank fraud

Avenatti was released on a $300,000 bond on Monday and is set to re-appear in court in April, in both New York and California.

‘Sure, I’m nervous, I’m scared. I’m all of those things. And if I wasn’t, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense,’ he concluded in a short snippet of the interview set to air on CBS Evening News tonight.

Avenatti’s tone marked a stark contrast to the confident one displayed in a press conference in New York on Monday evening, where he told reporters he would be ‘fully exonerated’.

• ‘The public will learn the truth about Nike’s crime and… ‘I will be exonerated’: Stormy’s attorney Michael Avenatti…

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‘As all of you know for the entirety of my career I have fought against the powerful. Powerful people and powerful corporations,’ he told the press. ‘I will never stop fighting that good fight.

‘I am highly confident that when all of the evidence is laid bare in connection with these cases, when it is all known, when due process occurs that I will be fully exonerated and justice will be done.’

Avenatti reaffirmed his innocence in a tweet, saying he ‘never attempted to extort Nike’, and the public would soon learn the truth of their ‘crime and cover-up’.

His social media expose continued on Tuesday morning, where, in a series of posts, Avenatti named both DeAndre Ayton and Bol Bol as examples of NCAA players who’ve received improper funding from Nike.

Avenatti then appeared to implicated Phoenix Suns player DeAndre Ayton, who attended the University of Arizona, a school which is sponsored by Nike

Michael Avenatti tweeted in the early hours of Tuesday morning that he was innocent and ‘anxious for people to see what really happened’ 

In his tweets, Avenatti named Oregon Ducks player Bol Bol (left) and Phoenix Suns star DeAndre Ayton (right) 

Ayton played a single season at the University of Arizona before becoming the first pick in the 2018 draft while Bol Bol is the son of 7ft 7in NBA great Manute Bol, who passed away back in 2010.

Avenatti claimed Bol Bol ‘and his handlers’ took ‘large sums’ to play for The University of Oregon, a Nike sponsored school. He also implicated Ayton, writing: ‘Ask DeAndre Ayton and Nike about the cash payments to his mother and others.’

Avenatti claims he has proof that Nike was paying players illegally to sign with certain schools when they were in high school, and says he planned to expose the scheme in a press conference.

But Prosecutors say that rather than try to make the alleged scheme public knowledge, he has been threatening Nike and demanding up to cash to stay quiet.

The charges against Avenatti were announced shortly after he tweeted: ‘Tmrw at 11 am ET, we will be holding a press conference to disclose a major high school/college basketball scandal perpetrated by @Nike that we have uncovered. This criminal conduct reaches the highest levels of Nike and involves some of the biggest names in college basketball.’

Avenatti’s tone marked a stark contrast to the confident one displayed in a press conference in New York on Monday evening, where he told reporters he would be ‘fully exonerated’

According to his indictment, Avenatti’s interest in the case began with the coach of an amateur youth travel basketball team who he represents.

The team had recently lost its $72,000 sponsorship deal from Nike.

Last week, Avenatti contacted Nike claiming to not only know about the ‘scam’ but insisting the company should pay his client $1.5 million to stay quiet and give him an additional $15 million to $25 million to ‘investigate’ it.

‘I’ll go take ten billion dollars off your client’s market cap,’ Avenatti allegedly said during the call.

He later noted: ‘I’m not f***ing around.’

Avenatti was hit with an extortion charge in court papers filed earlier on Monday by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Those charges are the result of Avenatti’s alleged attempt to receive $25M in payments from Nike. He’s seen in court Monday

Avenatti gained public notoriety when he represented former adult film star Stormy Daniels in a lawsuit against President Trump last year. In a tweet, Daniels revealed she fired Avenatti for dishonesty

In a statement on Monday, Nike said it ‘has been cooperating with the government’s investigation into NCAA basketball for over a year…[and] firmly believes in ethical and fair play, both in business and sports, and will continue to assist the prosecutors.’

Avenatti gained public notoriety when he represented former adult film star Stormy Daniels in a lawsuit against President Trump last year.   

‘Knowing what I know about Michael Avenatti, I am saddened but not shocked by news reports that he has been criminally charged today,’ ex-client Daniels tweeted on Monday.

‘I made the decision more than a month ago to terminate Michael’s services after discovering that he had dealt with me extremely dishonestly and there will be more announcements to come.’ 

Avenatti faces almost 100 years in prison if convicted in both cases, as well as possible disbarment as a lawyer.

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