John Seravalli
California lawyer Michael Avenatti has been charged by federal prosecutors in New York for attempting to extort Nike of more than $20 million dollars
Avenatti, former legal counsel to pornstar Stormy Daniels, sent a tweet Monday afternoon where he announced he would be holding a press conference regarding a “major high school/college basketball scandal.”
The tweet sent fans of many high-profile college teams in a frenzy. However, 30 minutes later, it would be Avenatti who found himself in handcuffs.
The disgraced lawyer is alleged to have told Nike he would cancel the press conference if Nike agreed to pay a client $1.5 million, and hire him for an additional $25 million to lead an internal investigation.
The Manhattan US Attorney’s office has scheduled a press conference for later today.
Prosecutors in Los Angeles will also move to announce separate bank and wire fraud charges.
