Michael Avenatti Accused in Nike Extortion Attempt

Michael Avenatti, the lawyer best known for representing Stormy Daniels in her lawsuits against President Trump, was arrested Monday as federal prosecutors filed charges accusing him of attempting to extort millions of dollars from Nike by threatening negative publicity right before an earnings call and the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament.

In court documents filed Monday, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said that Mr. Avenatti and a client, a former A.A.U. basketball coach, told Nike that they had evidence Nike employees had funneled money to recruits. The prosecutors said the men threatened to release the evidence in order to damage Nike’s reputation and market capitalization unless the company paid them at least $22.5 million.

Mr. Avenatti attempted to extract the money “by threatening to use his ability to garner publicity to inflict substantial financial and reputational harm on the company if his demands were not met,” prosecutors said in a statement.

The court documents were filed around the same time Mr. Avenatti, in a post on his Twitter account, had announced that he would hold a news conference on Tuesday to accuse Nike of “a major high school/college basketball scandal.”

Last year, two former employees of Adidas were among those convicted of fraud for their participation in a similar scheme, outlined by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, based in Manhattan, in which families of recruits were paid in exchange for their sons’ commitments to college teams sponsored by Adidas.

Mr. Avenatti could not be reached for comment. Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the case announced Monday, the federal prosecutors said Mr. Avenatti and another California-based lawyer represented a coach whose team recently did not have its contract with Nike renewed, according to the court documents. Mr. Avenatti told Nike that he had evidence that at least three former high school players were paid by Nike in ways that were intended to be concealed, the documents said.

Mr. Avenatti, according to prosecutors, threatened that he would hold a news conference at a moment when it could maximally disrupt Nike: before its quarterly earnings call last week, which also coincided with start of the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament. The tournament is among the biggest annual events on the sports calendar, featuring many prominent teams, like Duke, North Carolina and Kentucky, who are sponsored by Nike.

Mr. Avenatti said he would refrain from publicizing his evidence if Nike paid $1.5 million to his client, who is not named, the court documents said. He also demanded that Nike hire him and another lawyer to conduct an internal investigation, for billings worth between $15 million and $25 million, court documents said.

As an alternative, prosecutors said, Mr. Avenatti said he would accept $22.5 million from Nike for him and his client in exchange for their not releasing the evidence.

Nike, Adidas and Under Armour sponsor dozens of basketball teams for high school players that compete mainly in the summer. The equipment companies shower those teams with tens of thousands of dollars in financing and apparel, and also organize massive tournaments attended by the country’s most prominent college coaches. More than high school basketball, these leagues represent the central hub of recruiting for college basketball programs.

The 2017 charges of corruption against former Adidas employees and several other figures in college basketball, including assistant coaches at major programs, rocked college basketball, and prompted the suspensions of players at Kansas, Louisville, Auburn and elsewhere and the firing of Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino from Louisville. There have been three convictions in the case so far and several guilty pleas.

In a trial scheduled to begin next month stemming from those charges, lawyers for defendants have pledged to put major head coaches on the stand, which may reveal further corruption at other programs.

Also Monday, Avenatti was arrested in a separate case filed in federal court in Los Angeles. In that case, in the Central District of California, the United States Attorney’s office said Mr. Avenatti had been arrested on bank fraud and wire fraud charges; he is accused of having embezzled a client’s money to pay his debts and to have defrauded a bank with false tax returns to obtain loans.

[This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.]