Current:Home > MySupreme Court declines to review conviction of disgraced attorney Michael Avenatti in Nike extortion case-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
Supreme Court declines to review conviction of disgraced attorney Michael Avenatti in Nike extortion case
lotradecoin ecosystem development roadmap View Date:2024-12-25 16:22:45
Washington — The Supreme Court on Tuesday turned away a bid by disgraced California attorney Michael Avenatti to overturn his conviction for attempting to extort nearly $25 million from sporting goods giant Nike.
The rejection of Avenatti's appeal means his conviction on three federal charges will remain in place.
Avenatti gained notoriety for representing adult film star Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against former President Donald Trump but became embroiled in numerous legal scandals. Among them was his scheme to extort millions of dollars from Nike, for which he was found guilty by a jury on three federal counts and sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Avenatti, 53, is currently incarcerated at a federal corrections facility in San Pedro, California. He is scheduled to be released in 2035, according to Bureau of Prison records. Separate from the Nike case, he was also convicted for cheating Daniels and other clients out of millions of dollars.
Avenatti also represented a woman who accused Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct when he was in high school in the early 1980s, allegations that surfaced during his Supreme Court confirmation process in 2018. Kavanaugh vehemently denied all the claims. He did not participate in the consideration of Avenatti's case.
The criminal case before the Supreme Court stemmed from his representation of sports coach Gary Franklin, whose youth basketball organization Nike sponsored for roughly a decade. The company's sponsorship, though, stopped in 2018. The Justice Department noted that when Avenatti agreed to represent Franklin, he had outstanding judgments of $11 million and his law firm had been kicked out of its office for failure to pay rent.
As part of his work for Franklin, Avenatti set up a meeting with Nike's lawyers in March 2019, and told him he would secure him $1 million in compensation and try to reestablish Nike's relationship with him and his youth basketball organization.
During the March 2019 meeting, Avenatti made a series of demands to Nike's lawyers and threatened to hold a press conference to expose allegations that the company was illegally paying elite amateur basketball players. Avenatti, who also threatened to leak the story to the New York Times, claimed the public airing of the accusations would harm the company financially.
Nike's representatives contacted federal prosecutors after the meeting and agreed to let the FBI record their conversations with Avenatti. One day later, Avenatti spoke again with a Nike lawyer and reiterated a demand that the company pay Franklin $1.5 million and hire him and another lawyer, Mark Geragos, to conduct an internal investigation into corruption in basketball.
Avenatti said he needed to be paid more than a "few million dollars" for the investigation because "it's worth more in exposure to me to just blow the lid on this thing," according to court papers. He ultimately demanded a payment between $15 million and $25 million, but also suggested that if Nike wanted a confidential settlement agreement, it could be "done" if it paid him $22.5 million for his silence.
"Full confidentiality, we ride off into the sunset," Avenatti was recorded telling Nike attorneys.
Franklin was not aware that Avenatti planned to threaten Nike to go public with exposing the alleged misconduct and intended for the information to be kept confidential, according to court papers.
A federal grand jury in New York indicted Avenatti on three counts. His efforts to dismiss the charges were unsuccessful, and he was later convicted. Requests for a new trial and judgment of acquittal were denied.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit upheld Avenatti's conviction, finding the evidence was sufficient to find him guilty on all three counts.
He then appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing in part that the federal fraud law he was convicted of violating is unconstitutionally vague. Represented by federal public defenders, Avenatti also argued that a lawyer's settlement demand cannot give rise to federal criminal extortion liability.
"This case vivifies all the ills of honest services fraud," Avenatti's lawyers wrote in a Supreme Court filing. "Federal and state law already contain ample tools to combat abuses of fiduciary duty ― bribery prosecutions, or, as might be relevant here, professional disciplinary proceedings. A formless provision so amenable to prosecutorial abuse does more harm than good."
The Justice Department urged the Supreme Court to turn the case away, calling his claims "meritless." Avenatti's extortion charges were based on his demand that Nike hire him to conduct an internal investigation, not litigation conduct, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said in a filing to the justices.
Melissa QuinnMelissa Quinn is a politics reporter for CBSNews.com. She has written for outlets including the Washington Examiner, Daily Signal and Alexandria Times. Melissa covers U.S. politics, with a focus on the Supreme Court and federal courts.
TwitterveryGood! (332)
Related
- Detroit judge orders sleepy teenage girl on field trip to be handcuffed, threatens jail
- 11 injured in shooting in Savannah, Georgia
- Hall of Fame Oakland Raiders center Jim Otto dies at 86
- Patricia Heaton Defends Harrison Butker Amid Controversial Speech Backlash
- Walmart boosts its outlook for 2024 with bargains proving a powerful lure for the inflation weary
- Will Jennifer Love Hewitt’s Kids Follow in Her Acting Footsteps? She Says…
- Inmate wins compassionate release order hours after being rushed to hospital, put on life support
- Hometown of Laura Ingalls Wilder set for a growth spurt
- New York county signs controversial mask ban meant to hide people's identities in public
- Courteney Cox Shares Matthew Perry Visits Her 6 Months After His Death
Ranking
- Jim Harbaugh wants to hire Colin Kaepernick to Chargers' coaching staff. Will the QB bite?
- Maine man charged with stealing, crashing 2 police cars held without bail
- Gabby Douglas falters, Simone Biles shines at Olympic qualifying event
- Drake Bell Details “Gruesome” Abuse While Reflecting on Quiet on Set Docuseries
- Justice Department defends Boeing plea deal against criticism by 737 Max crash victims’ families
- MLB power rankings: Kansas City Royals rise from the ashes after decade of darkness
- Genesis to pay $2 billion to victims of alleged cryptocurrency fraud
- Why Eva Longoria Says Her 5-Year-Old Son Santiago Is Very Bougie
Recommendation
-
Hurricane Ernesto aims for Bermuda after leaving many in Puerto Rico without power or water
-
Flight attendant pleads not guilty to attempting to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
-
Red Lobster seeks bankruptcy protection days after closing dozens of restaurants
-
Moose kills Alaska man attempting to take photos of her newborn calves
-
US shoppers sharply boosted spending at retailers in July despite higher prices
-
California county’s farm bureau sues over state monitoring of groundwater
-
Scottie Scheffler’s Louisville court date postponed after arrest during PGA Championship
-
Bachelor Nation's Ryan Sutter Clarifies He and Wife Trista Are Great After Cryptic Messages