WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected disgraced attorney Michael Avenatti’s appeal of an attempt to extort money from sportswear company Nike.
The court upheld Avenatti’s extortion and fraud charges.
In the short ruling, the court noted that conservative judge Brett Kavanaugh did not participate in the decision.
There was no explanation, but one possible reason was Avenatti participates In Kavanaugh’s controversial confirmation hearing, she represents one of several women who have come forward with allegations of sexual abuse against the candidate decades ago. Kavanaugh has denied all charges.
It was Avenatti was convicted Two and a half years in prison for the Nike extortion plot. He apologized for the sentence, saying that he was “deeply humiliated”.
The case came to light in 2019 when Avenatti represented a youth basketball coach in Los Angeles who alleged Nike made illegal payments to high school athletes. Around the same time, Avenatti faced multi-million dollar judgments and was fired from his law firm office.
During negotiations with Nike’s lawyers, Avenatti pressed the company not only to pay his client, but also to hire him and another lawyer to conduct an internal investigation into the matter. He is alleged to have said that if he did not, he would go public with the allegations.
Avenatti was charged with two counts of extortion and one count of fraud under a federal law that targets illegal kickbacks by requiring people to provide “bona fide services.” A jury found him guilty on all three counts.
The appellate court upheld the verdict.
The Supreme Court has questioned the scope of the honest services fraud statute in previous cases, including last year’s decision. annulled the verdict An aide to former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Avenatti has regularly attracted headlines over the years. One of her former clients was adult film star Stormy Daniels, whom she represented in an attempt to void a nondisclosure agreement she signed with former President Donald Trump over allegations she had sex with him.
Trump is currently on trial on charges of making hush money payments to Daniels in violation of New York law.
The Nike case isn’t Avenatti’s only legal challenge. He was He was sentenced to 14 years in prison to scam customers out of millions of dollars four years in prison For stealing money from Daniels. Avenatti is currently incarcerated in a federal prison in California, with a release date of August 2035.