Michael Avenatti accuses Nike of "cover-up" amid extortion charges
Watch Michael Avenatti's first interview since his arrest on Wednesday on "CBS This Morning," which airs from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET/PT.
Celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti said he's "highly confident" that he will be "fully exonerated" after his arrest on criminal charges in two states. Federal prosecutors in California accused Avenatti on Monday of embezzling more than $1 million from a client and defrauding a bank of more than $4 million.
In New York, federal prosecutors say they have phone calls proving Avenatti tried to extort millions of dollars from Nike. According to their complaint, Avenatti claimed one of his clients had evidence that Nike was involved in an illegal recruiting scheme. Prosecutors say he asked Nike to pay him and another attorney more than $22 million to keep quiet.
Avenatti, who rose to prominence as the lawyer for Stormy Daniels, slammed Nike on Tuesday, claiming on Twitter that the company's alleged recruiting scheme "reaches the highest levels" of the company. He accused Nike of paying two players, Bol Bol and Deandre Ayton. "Ask DeAndre Ayton and Nike about the cash payments to his mother and others," he wrote.
Ask DeAndre Ayton and Nike about the cash payments to his mother and others. Nike’s attempt at diversion and cover-up will fail miserably once prosecutors realize they have been played by Nike and their lawyers at Boies. This reaches the highest levels of Nike.
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) March 26, 2019
According to CBS News legal analyst Rikki Klieman, if he's convicted of these crimes in either state he'll likely go to prison, pay a fine and get disbarred. She also said it's unlikely that Avenatti will be able to beat the case against him in California.
"It's a paper case, he embezzled allegedly $1.6 million and he phonied up tax returns to get a bank loan for $4.2 million," Klieman said.
In his New York case, Klieman said Avenatti will likely try to defend himself by arguing he was working on behalf of his client.
"He's going to say, look, I'm a great lawyer. Of course, I'm a tough guy. You know I play hardball. This is how I work. And I didn't do anything else that any other client wouldn't have done. That falls pretty short when you listen to what the conversations are," Klieman said. "It's one thing to give zealous representation to a client which is your duty as a lawyer, it's another thing to be looking for money for yourself. He was looking for $1.5 million for the client who may or may not have had a claim with merit. He was looking for $22.5 million for himself and perhaps for Mr. Geragos."
Sources tell CBS News the second attorney is celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos though he has not been charged. He has declined to comment.
Bol Bol and his handlers also received large sums from Nike. The receipts are clear as day. A lot of people at Nike will have to account for their criminal conduct, starting with Carlton DeBose & moving higher up. The diversion charade they orchestrated against me will be exposed
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) March 26, 2019
As soon as Avenatti allegedly tried to shake down Nike's lawyers at Boies Schiller, the firm contacted the U.S. attorney.
"Boies Schiller said, 'I'm not getting involved in this.' They called the U.S. attorney as soon as these conversations began. Law enforcement then recorded days of conversations and meetings and the words are really, really raw."
Avenatti has not entered a plea and is due in court next month. If convicted of all charges, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.