New York / Los Angeles, – Michael Avenatti, explorer of porn star Stormy Daniels in his crusade against US President Donald Trump, was arrested today in New York for bank fraud, embezzlement and extortion attempt on the company Nike, according to court documents.
The Southern District of New York today announced charges against Avenatti for “trying to extract more than 20 million dollars in payments” with threats using its ability to “inflict damage to the company’s reputation and finances” in case of meet their demands.
Avenatti himself tweeted today that he plans to hold a press conference on Tuesday “to reveal a basketball scandal in high schools and universities perpetrated by Nike.”
In addition, prosecutors in Los Angeles announced that Avenatti also faces federal charges of banking and cyber fraud.
He is accused of embezzling a $ 1.6 million settlement to finance his coffee business, Global Baristas US LLC, and for personal expenses. He is also accused of obtaining $ 4.1 million in loans from a Mississippi bank when filing false tax returns.
Avenatti, who went so far as to imply that he could stand as a candidate for the next presidential election, rose to fame by representing Daniels in his effort to nullify a secret agreement with Trump and his then lawyer, Michael Cohen.
The aim of Avenatti was for Trump to recognize the existence of a supposed pact of confidentiality related to a sexual relationship between the ruler and his client in 2006, when the president was already married to Melania.
The porn star said a man approached her in a Las Vegas parking lot in 2011 and threatened her not to talk about her alleged sexual relationship with Trump if she did not want to have problems.
“Leave Trump alone. Forget history,” Daniels recalled of the man’s words. According to his testimony, he looked at the little daughter of the actress, who was in the back seat of the vehicle and said: “She is a beautiful girl, it would be a pity if something happened to her mother”.
The actress assured that the fear of that threat was the reason why, in the final stretch of the 2016 presidential campaign, she agreed to sign a confidentiality agreement on her romance with Trump for $ 130,000.
In December 2018 a US federal judge He ordered Daniels to pay $ 293,000 to Trump to cover the expenses of his legal team in connection with the defamation suit filed by her and that was rejected by the Justice.
It is expected that Geoffrey S. Berman, the federal prosecutor of the Southern District of New York, will appear shortly to give a press conference to offer more details of the matter (EFE).
