The United States Supreme Court has denied the appeal request of Michael Avenatti, thereby affirming his conviction for scheming to extort $25 million from sportswear giant, Nike.
The Court's order, which was devoid of any further explanation, stated, "The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied." It was also noted that Justice Brett Kavanaugh abstained from participating in the deliberation or decision.
Avenatti, a lawyer, had previously represented Julie Swetnick, one of the women who publicly accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct during his 2018 Supreme Court nomination. Kavanaugh vehemently denied these allegations.
Avenatti gained public attention as the legal counsel for adult film actress Stormy Daniels in her legal disputes against former President Trump. The Supreme Court's decision coincided with the day closing arguments were anticipated in Trump's month-long criminal trial in Manhattan. The case revolves around accusations that Trump manipulated business records to conceal hush-money payments made to Daniels, who claimed to have had a sexual encounter with him ten years prior to the 2016 presidential election.
Avenatti's legal entanglement with Nike originated from a whistleblower's claims that the sportswear company was illicitly paying amateur basketball players. His defense team argued that the fraud statute under which he was convicted is unconstitutionally ambiguous. They further asserted that Avenatti's actions did not constitute criminal extortion as he was merely involved in settlement discussions with Nike.
The federal appeals court in New York upheld Avenatti's conviction and sentence. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Avenattis argument that there was insufficient evidence to support his February 2020 conviction on charges of extortion and honest-services fraud for threatening to tarnish Nike's reputation unless he received payment.
In 2021, Avenatti, a California-based lawyer, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison in the Nike case. He was also found guilty of embezzling book proceeds from Daniels and was sentenced to an additional two and a half years in prison in June 2022 in relation to that case. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this conviction in March. In December 2022, Avenatti received a further 14-year prison sentence after admitting to stealing millions in settlement funds from four other clients, including a paraplegic man, and evading taxes for a coffee chain he owned.
According to the Bureau of Prisons, Avenatti is set to be released from prison in 2035.
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