Famous Creepy Porn Lawyer Michael Avenatti Arrested in $15m-$25m Extortion Scheme versus Nike vis-a-vis college basketball

Is it just me, or does it seem like a terrible idea to lob treats at the client of a huge law firm to a room full of the firm's lawyers?

This will be fun. I am equally certain that Nike did everything that Avenatti is alleging and that Avenatti did everything that Nike is alleging. Avenatti crossed some lines, but, unfortunately, that kind of stuff is not uncommon among the high stakes plaintiff's lawyers. I am actually a bit surprised that Nike called in the feds on Avenatti. If Avenatti had not interjected himself on the political stage and was getting whooped in the lawsuits he filed for Stormy, Nike's response would have probably been "get bent". But I guess they saw Avenatti as a wounded animal and decided to go in for the kill.

Avenatti hit back with a full-scale Twitter attack against Nike, claiming the company has not been cooperating with a federal investigation into its Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) for over a year.

"Unless you count lying in response to subpoenas and withholding documents as 'cooperating.' They are trying to divert attention from their own crimes."

Avenatti dropped a bombshell tweet accusing Nike of paying off 20-year-old PHX Suns star Deandre Ayton and his mom before he made it to the NBA. Ayton played college ball at the University of Arizona and was a highly recruited high school star before that.

Avenatti wrote ... "Ask DeAndre Ayton and Nike about the cash payments to his mother and others. Nike’s attempt at diversion and cover-up will fail miserably once prosecutors realize they have been played by Nike and their lawyers at Boies. This reaches the highest levels of Nike."

"The corruption at Nike was rampant with Merl Code and increased with his apprentice DeBose after Code left for Adiddas. Those above DeBose knew all about the payments. Nike conspired to route many of the payments through a convicted felon. Nike then lied to the government.

"If Nike was cooperating with the government for over a year relating to this scandal (they weren’t - this is a lie), where are the disclosures in their SEC filings? There are none. Wait until the SEC begins their investigation & starts asking why Nike hid this info from investors

https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/1110546772819103745

https://www.tmz.com/2019/03/26/michael-avenatti-nike-twitter-tirade-deandre-ayton-extortion-arrest/

It may be the case that the embezzlement charges are politically motivated, but the legal standards regarding treatment of client funds are very stringent and unfortunately not adhering to the fiduciary duty that obtains with the handling of client funds is an all too often circumstance which gets lawyers in trouble. I tend to think that this is a very significant source of grief for Avenatti, particularly given his publicly known financial problems. Of course, he is entitled to a defense, but the facts will come out at some point. And even if criminal charges don't stick, this kind of thing puts law licenses at risk.

The extortion case is interesting. What really doesn't help Avenatti is his alleged self dealing. Offering to refrain from a press conference so long as Nike hired him (and apparently Geragos) to conduct an investigation, one that, no matter the facts and circumstances, had to bring $15M-25M in legal services revenue to Avenatti? This is quite different than threatening to sue, an everyday occurrence in the legal field. Query, too, who is Avenatti's client here? Lawyers typically don't ply their trade in the absence of a client. If he has no identified client (and he might), that will cause him additional challenges as it will appear that he was engaging in advocacy for his own enrichment without the legal fiction of pursuing justice for a client. You can bet Geragos is cooperating, why he is merely listed as a co-conspirator, but this fact does give rise to a perception political motivations exist here.

I am curious about his finances as well. He has won some enormous judgments as the proprietor of a small firm. Does he have Marc Dreier type tastes? Query why he has judgments in debt being issued against him? Gossip outlets reflect he did lead an outsize lifestyle.

may be the case wrote:

I am curious about his finances as well. He has won some enormous judgments as the proprietor of a small firm. Does he have Marc Dreier type tastes? Query why he has judgments in debt being issued against him? Gossip outlets reflect he did lead an outsize lifestyle.

His 2017 divorce also probably didn't help his finances.

I don't find Avenatti creepy no matter his supposed crimes. He's got style and swagger, sure, but creepy?

It's funny now, under Trump, what our criminal prosecutors are interested in. And "creepy" might be the guy who quoted Hitler when talking about Trump critics, or Paul Ryan in general, Bannon, or Mitch McConnell just because, or basically everyone Trump put in the White House, Trump himself, etc., etc. Not Avenatti.

Latest is that Avenatti is being remanded back to court in California, where the prosecutors are demanding pre-trial detention under the guise that his attendance at trial cannot be assured. This is striking because he immediately posted a 300k bond, a relatively small bond given his circle of friends. He has clearly made some exceedingly hot under the collar. By the way, I don't care whether he is creepy or not. The facts and the law will determine his fate here, although again, he does seem to have motivated people to align against him.

Press F to pay respects

Sounds like Trumps new lawyer!

may be the case wrote:

By the way, I don't care whether he is creepy or not.

The "creepy" refers to the Porn, not the Lawyer.

FFF wrote:

I don't find Avenatti creepy no matter his supposed crimes. He's got style and swagger, sure, but creepy?

It's funny now, under Trump, what our criminal prosecutors are interested in. And "creepy" might be the guy who quoted Hitler when talking about Trump critics, or Paul Ryan in general, Bannon, or Mitch McConnell just because, or basically everyone Trump put in the White House, Trump himself, etc., etc. Not Avenatti.

HI FLAGPOLE!!! Defending your hero Avenatti?

“I am nervous. I am concerned. I’m scared. I feel terrible for my family. I feel bad for my friends. Most people are sticking by me. They believe in me. They know what I am all about,” Avenatti stated. “So, I’ve been very fortunate in that regard. But sure, I am nervous. I’m scared. I’m all those things and if I wasn’t, it wouldn’t make a lot sense.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex2AY6qojk0

Celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti brushed aside his indictment for extortion by saying “people make threats all the time,” according to his “CBS This Morning” interview that aired Wednesday.

“There’s legal experts that say that I was well within the line as an aggressive attorney. There’s many that say that, and the fact of the matter is this was not extortion. People make threats all the time … in connection with trying to settle a case,” Avenatti said.

"If what they’ve alleged constitutes extortion, you’re going to have to go around the country and arrest tens of thousands of lawyers in this country for extortion,” he said. “It was attempting to settle and resolve a dispute on behalf of a client and make sure that the right thing was done.”

Did you try to extort Nike?

“No, and any suggestion is absolutely absurd. Nike knew, from the very first moment that I had any contact with Nike, that I was insisting that the truth about what Nike had done be disclosed to federal prosecutors and investigators,” he responded.

“What is the truth?”

“The truth is, for years Nike and its executives have been funneling payments to amateur players, high school players and to their handlers and family members in an effort to get them to go to colleges that were Nike colleges and ultimately hopefully to the NBA so they can sign a shoe deal with Nike,” Avenatti said.

"[The complaint] It’s just not accurate. And in fact, from the very first moment that we had any meeting with Nike, we made it clear that under no circumstances would we participate in anything that did not require full disclosure to investigators and the federal government.”

“I am confident because I believe the facts are on my side,” Avenatti said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSvDDO6Zhyg

BREAKING: Seagrams heiress Clare Bronfman faints in court after judge seems to suggest that Michael Avenatti was secretly representing her, trying to negotiate deal with US attorney’s office in NXIVM case. An ambulance has been called.

https://twitter.com/Emily_Saul_/status/1110995626353938433

https://twitter.com/Emily_Saul_/status/1111006978774585344

Michael Avenatti was loaded for bear Wednesday night, proclaiming his innocence in the extortion case, proclaiming that the R. Kelly case would be unaffected by the extortion case and proclaiming it's only a matter of time before top Nike execs would be led away in handcuffs.

We got the embattled celeb attorney in WeHo Wednesday night ... and we strolled along with him on a long, long walk ... where he unpacked his outrage.

Avenatti said all the talk that his indictment will torpedo the R. Kelly prosecution is BS ... because the evidence is the evidence is the evidence.

And then, he talked Nike. As you know, he's been accused of trying to extort the shoe co. for more than $20 million in return for keeping his silence on alleged misdeeds -- specifically, Nike secretly paid off the families of star high school basketball players in order to direct them to Nike-sponsored colleges.

He goes after Nike execs with a vengeance, saying they are corrupt to the core and it will be exposed. He also insists any money he may have demanded was not a quid pro quo for his silence. Avenatti says he was going to expose Nike regardless of whether the company paid him or not.

Nike's bigger crime here is the racketeering (bribery) or the fraud (deception)?

Which Nike executives will be charged first?