Attorney Michael Avenatti makes his way to an awaiting vehicle after addressing the media outside the Santa Ana federal courthouse in Santa Ana, California on May 7, 2019
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images
Controversial lawyer Michael Avenatti was indicted on charges of trying to extort athletic shoe giant Nike out of tens of millions of dollars by threatening to go public with embarassing information about the company, according to federal court documents unsealed in New York City on Wednesday.
The indictment, which Avenatti had said Tuesday was imminent, was expected, as he had already been arrested on a criminal complaint that contained similar allegations of a brazen shakedown effort.
Avenatti, who also faces an unrelated indictment in federal court in California on charges of ripping off clients and tax crimes, gained notoriety last year for his full-throated representation of porn star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuits against President Donald Trump and his former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen.
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