April 2, 2019
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1:03Now PlayingMichael Avenatti faces a hearing in Santa Ana, California to answer federal charges he fraudulently obtained $4 million in bank loans and pocketed $1.6 million that belonged to a client.
One week ago, federal prosecutors in two states revealed criminal charges against Avenatti, accusing the lawyer of scheming to extort up to $25 million from shoemaker Nike, embezzling money and defrauding a bank.
Avenatti is the Los Angeles lawyer who represented pornographic actress Stormy Daniels in a lawsuit over what she said was a bid by Trump during his presidential campaign to prevent her from speaking about having sex with him.
In the Nike case, federal prosecutors in New York charged Avenatti with four counts of extortion and conspiracy for allegedly threatening to reveal what he claimed was evidence that Nike made improper payments to high school basketball players unless the company paid $1.5 million to one of his clients and $15 million to $25 million for him and an associate to conduct an investigation of Nike.
In California, prosecutors alleged that Avenatti negotiated a $1.6 million settlement for an unnamed client, then provided the client a fake settlement agreement that said the money would not come until later, then used it to pay expenses for his coffee business, Global Baristas US, which operated Tully’s Coffee stores in California and Washington state, as well as for his own expenses.
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Attorney Michael Avenatti In Federal Court | USA TODAY
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