Michael Avenatti arrested for Federal Extortion

Avenatti was arrested in New York on federal extortion charges, Nicolas Biase, with the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York told The Hollywood Reporter. 

CNBC reported:

Celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti has been arrested on charges related to an alleged $20 million extortion of the athletic apparel company Nike, federal authorities said Monday.

A press conference is scheduled to discuss the charges against Avenatti in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon. Avenatti is due to be presented in federal court on Monday.

The charges were revealed less than an hour after Avenatti announced a press conference to discuss purported claims against Nike. An FBI agent said in the complaint that the lawyer had threatened to hold a press conference on the eve of Nike’s quarterly earnings call to announced “allegations of misconduct by employees of Nike.”