Bombastic barrister Michael Avenatti facing new indictment for Nike ‘shakedown’By STEPHEN REX BROWN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
NOV 13, 2019
(L-R) Michael Avenatti and Mark Geragos. (AP)
Prosecutors slapped trash-talking attorney Michael Avenatti with a new charge Wednesday for his alleged shakedown of Nike while also reducing the legal risk for celeb lawyer Mark Geragos, who is implicated in the case.
The new indictment filed in Manhattan Federal Court eliminated conspiracy charges against Avenatti, who is accused of attempting to extort the shoe giant for more than $20 million or he’d go public with claims the company secretly paid college basketball prospects.
Avenatti and Geragos were representing Gary Franklin Sr., a prominent figure in the youth basketball world, when prosecutors say Avenatti crossed the line from legal advocate to criminal.
A conspiracy charge requires an agreement with a second person, raising the possibility that Geragos was the other person involved in the alleged extortion plot. But in the new indictment, prosecutors replaced two conspiracy charges with an honest services fraud charge against Avenatti. The evidence in the case remains the same.
You don’t have to go far to run into secondhand smoke these days. It’s practically everywhere and that’s no coincidence.
“I’ll go take $10 billion off your client’s market cap… I’m not f-----g around,” Avenatti told Nike lawyers on March 20, according to a criminal complaint.
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Avenatti, 48, demanded Nike hire him and Geragos to conduct an internal investigation paying up to $25 million, the complaint reads.
Avenatti has pleaded not guilty and said he’s the victim of “vindictive prosecution” due to his criticism of President Trump. As part of his defense, Avenatti seeks to introduce evidence of Nike payments to college basketball players.
Geragos, a Los Angeles-based attorney who has represented celebrities including Winona Ryder, Kesha, Colin Kaepernick and Michael Jackson, did not respond to an email. He has not been charged.
“I am extremely pleased that the two counts alleging I engaged in a conspiracy against Nike have just been dismissed by Trump’s DOJ. I expect to be fully exonerated when it is all said and done,” Avenatti tweeted.
A trial is set for January.
Avenatti is separately charged in Manhattan with stealing $300,000 from a book deal made by his former client, porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had an affair with Trump. Avenatti became famous in large part through his aggressive representation of Daniels.
The bulldog lawyer is also charged in Los Angeles with ripping off clients, failing to pay taxes, bank fraud and lying during bankruptcy proceedings.
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-avenatti-nike-indictment-geragos-20191114-wx64wjchjzf5jadbc7niniymdu-story.html
