A federal judge on Thursday sentenced celebrity lawyer turned criminal defendant Michael Avenatti to 30 months in prison for attempting to extort millions of dollars from Nike.
Avenatti, who rose to fame as Stormy Daniels’ lawyer, was convicted in February 2020 of three counts for threatening to publicly accuse the sportswear company of illicitly paying amateur basketball players unless Nike paid him.
“Mr. Avenatti’s conduct was outrageous,” US District Judge Paul Gardephe said during sentencing. “Mr. Avenatti had become drunk on the power of his platform, or what he perceived his platform to be.”
Speaking before the court Thursday, Avenatti openly wept, choking up at several points and pausing in his remarks before continuing.
Referring to the two mediums that fueled his rise to fame, he told the judge that “TV and Twitter, your honor, mean nothing.”
“I betrayed my own values, my friends, my family and myself,” he said. “I, and I alone, have destroyed my career, my relationships, my life.”
According to evidence presented at trial, Avenatti told lawyers for Nike that he would hold a news conference claiming the company illegally paid players. In exchange for not going public, Avenatti demanded Nike pay his client at the time, youth basketball coach Gary Franklin, $1.5 million, pay Avenatti and another attorney $12 million, and guarantee $15 million to $25 million in payments for an internal investigation.
Credit: CNN