Prosecutors in Manhattan also accused the attorney of “attempting to extract more than $20 million in payments from a publicly traded company by threatening to use his ability to garner publicity to inflict substantial financial and reputational harm on the company if his demands were not met,” according a statement from the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. The company in question was Nike, according to the complaint, which Avenatti has been sparring with in recent months.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 25, 2019 17:12 UTC