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Disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti found guilty in Nike extortion trial

Disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti was convicted Friday by a jury of all three charges related to his efforts to extort up to $25 million from athletic apparel giant Nike.

The verdict in U.S. District Court in Manhattan came two years after Avenatti gained widespread notoriety for his representation of porn star Stormy Daniels in her legal disputes with President Donald Trump. The lawyer had briefly flirted with running for president.

Avenatti, 48, was accused in the Nike case of trying to shake down the company by threatening to go public with alleged evidence that the company had bribed amateur basketball players and their families unless Nike paid him millions of dollars.

Prosecutors said Avenatti’s audacious bid was spurred by a desperate need to get out from crushing debt of more than $11 million.

The bombastic attorney, who was ordered jailed last month for alleged violations of his release bond, faces upcoming trials this spring in two other federal criminal cases.

One of those cases, in New York, is for charges that he swindled Daniels out of $300,000 in proceeds for a book she wrote.

The other pending case, in California, is on charges accusing Avenatti of defrauding other clients out of millions of dollars, tax crimes and perjury.

Daniels was paid $130,000 by Trump’s then-personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen on the eve of the 2016 presidential election to keep her quiet about her claims of having had sex with Trump years earlier. Trump has denied Daniels’ allegations, but reimbursed Cohen for the hush money.

Celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti walks out of a New York court house after a hearing in a case where he is accused of stealing $300,000 from a former client, adult-film actress Stormy Daniels on July 23, 2019 in New York City.

Spencer Platt | Getty Images

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

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