Michael Avenatti – the California lawyer who rose to prominence representing an American stripper, Stormy Daniels, in a failed lawsuit against Donald Trump – has been found guilty of extortion, wire fraud and transmission of interstate communications with intent to extort in New York federal court. The plaintiff is Nike, which Avenatti approached shortly before an earnings report and threatened to expose for improper payments to amateur athletes unless it paid him $25 million or hired him to investigate those same allegations. Nike cooperated with prosecutors to record its negotiations with Avenatti secretly. Avenatti’s defense attorney, Howard Srebnick, disclosed in his opening statement at the trial that the SEC is currently investigating Nike for the alleged payments. Avenatti is due for sentencing in June and could spend 20 years in prison. His troubles will not yet be over, however, as he is still the defendant in two other unrelated fraud cases: in New York and California.

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