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Michael Avenatti Charged with Extortion against Nike, Arrested for Wire Fraud

Michael Avenatti has been arrested and charged with trying to extort $20 million out of Nike.

The feds claim Avenatti told Nike's lawyers if they didn't pay him between $15 million and $25 million he would hold a news conference on the eve of Nike's quarterly earnings call and the start of March Madness and announce allegations of misconduct by employees at the shoe company.

According to the complaint, Avenatti demanded Nike hire him to conduct an internal investigation for the enormous salary.

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York says Avenatti was representing a client who was the coach of an AAU Youth Club basketball team.