By: Veronica Kordmany
Jury selection began on Monday for the lawsuit filed against former lawyer Michael Avenatti, who is being tried for conspiracy to commit extortion against multinational, multibillion-dollar corporation, Nike. Avenatti is facing charges after he threatened Nike lawyers, to take allegations of corruption public – unless they paid him millions in return for his silent investigation, in March 2019. At the time, Michael was representing youth basketball coach Gary Franklin, who claimed to have the inside scoop on backroom practices that the company was concealing from the public record.
The 48-year old is sticking to his claim of innocence, while awaiting trial at the infamous Metropolitan Correctional Center, former jailhouse of Jeffrey Epstein and Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. He was formerly out on bail, until it was revoked by a judge in January 2020, for violating the terms of his release after he allegedly laundered money.
The investigation into Michael Avenatti shows that he was up to his neck in debt. Prosecutors believe the incident with Nike was an opportunity for the lawyer to shave off a little bit of the $15 million amount he owed. Avenatti told reporters, “Any claim that I had $15 million in debt at the time of my arrest is bogus and absurd,” he said. “I look forward to the trial in this case at which time I will be fully exonerated and the truth will finally be known.”
Prosecutors conducted the investigation in order to determine the motive for the former lawyer’s actions, as well as his innate desperation for money. What the investigation proved is that Michael’s debts range from his purchases of three cars – a race car, a Ferrari, and a Porsche – to people in his life, such as his former wives, law partner, and even celebrity lawyer, Mark Geragos, prosecutors wrote in court papers dated December 2019. Avenatti’s lawyer, Scott Srebnick, countered that the information holds no relevance, and would only force the jury to “…engage in class-based bias regarding the defendant’s wealth.”
What put him on the map is one of his celebrity clients: a porn star who goes by the stage name ‘Stormy Daniels’, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, who he represented in her lawsuit against President Donald Trump. Clifford hired Avenatti to invalidate her non-disclosure agreement with the President, after she allegedly had an affair with Trump. Since his arrest, Daniels has dropped the lawsuit and fired her lawyer.
Avenatti faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty. He is also currently wanted in New York and California for stealing settlements from clients such as Daniels.
