BREAKING: Michael Avenatti guilty on all counts in Nike extortion case
Embattled lawyer Michael Avenatti was convicted of extorting Nike, and of defrauding his client in a bid to reap millions from the shoemaker, in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said Avenatti wanted a way out of his $11 million in debts, and that “he saw a meal ticket named Gary Franklin.” Using his sizable following on TV and Twitter as ammunition, Avenatti threatened to go public about these alleged payments and wreck Nike’s reputation and profits ahead of a company earnings call and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. But he offered to keep quiet about the alleged scandal in return for $1.5 million for Franklin, and a $25-million payday for himself to conduct an internal investigation for the corporation.
But Avenatti’s lawyers said he was only fighting vigorously on behalf of his client; Franklin enlisted Avenatti to expose Nike’s corruption after Nike declined to renew its $72,000 annual sponsorship of Franklin’s basketball program. Avenatti’s hard-charging tactics, the defense argued, didn’t amount to a crime.
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