The Supreme Court upheld the conviction of attorney Michael Avenatti for conspiring to extort up to $25 million from Nike.
WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld attorney Michael Avenatti’s conviction for conspiring to extort up to $25 million from Nike.
The justices did not comment on the rejection of an appeal by Avenatti, who rose to prominence representing porn actor Stormy Daniels in litigation against former President Donald Trump. The timing of the court’s action, as Trump is on trial in New York for a hush-money payment to Daniels, is coincidental.
Avenatti’s involvement with Nike stems from a whistleblower’s allegations that the athletic shoe and apparel company was paying amateur basketball players.
Avenatti’s lawyers have argued that the fraud statute under which he was convicted is unconstitutionally vague. They also argued that Avenatti could not be criminally charged with conspiring to extort money from Nike because he was engaged in settlement negotiations.
The conviction and sentence were upheld by the federal appeals court in New York.
The 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals rejected Avenatti’s claim that there was insufficient evidence to support his February 2020 conviction on extortion and honest services fraud charges for threatening to defame Nike in the media if he wasn’t paid.
Avenatti, who lived in California, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison in the Nike case. He was also convicted of stealing proceeds from a book by Daniels and was sentenced to 14 years in prison for stealing settlements from customers and failing to pay taxes on funds from a coffee chain that he owned.
He is expected to be released from prison in 2035, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh did not participate in the court’s action Tuesday. Avenatti represented Julie Swetnick, one of the women who publicly accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct upon his appointment to the court in 2018. Kavanaugh has denied the allegations.