Avenatti Arrested For Trying to Extort $20M from NIKE...

Michael Avenatti charged with trying to extort $20M from Nike 

Lawyer Michael Avenatti is facing coast-to-coast charges in separate extortion and fraud schemes, the feds announced Monday. Avenatti — who shot to fame representing porn star Stormy Daniels over her claims of an affair with President Trump and more recently the parents of Azriel Clary, one of R. Kelly’s alleged “sex slaves” — was arrested in Manhattan on charges that he tried to shake down the sneaker giant Nike for $20 million last week, authorities said. “I’ll go take $10 billion off your client’s market cap … I’m not f–king around,” court papers say he told Nike lawyers during a conference call Wednesday. That conversation came a day after Avenatti met with Nike’s lawyers and “threatened to release damaging information” if the company didn’t pay off Avenatti and an unidentified co-conspirator, according to a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court. The Wall Street Journal identified the alleged co-conspirator as lawyer Mark Geragos, citing two people familiar with the matter. Avenatti’s alleged “not f–king around” threat allegedly came on the eve of Nike’s quarterly earnings report, and two days before the start of the NCAA’s “March Madness” college basketball tournament. Source