U.S. prosecutors have charged Trump critic and attorney Michael Avenatti with extortion and bank and wire fraud.
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles said Avenatti was arrested Monday in New York.
Spokesman Ciaran McEvoy says the lawyer best known for representing porn actress Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against President Donald Trump faces federal charges in New York and California.
In New York, he was accused of threatening to use his ability to get publicity to harm Nike. Prosecutors say he demanded that the apparel company give him $10 million.
Prosecutors in California planned to release more details at a news conference later Monday.
Avenatti represented Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, in a lawsuit to break a confidentiality agreement to speak about her unproven affair with Trump.
Avenatti had called a press conference for today at 11:00 am EST where he’d planned to talk about a story he’d allegedly uncovered involving Nike.
Tmrw at 11 am ET, we will be holding a press conference to disclose a major high school/college basketball scandal perpetrated by @Nike that we have uncovered. This criminal conduct reaches the highest levels of Nike and involves some of the biggest names in college basketball.
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) March 25, 2019
Authorities say he’d demanded a huge cash payment beforehand in exchange for his silence.
https://twitter.com/lachlan/status/1110231120069709824
He has also been charged for wire fraud and bank fraud.
https://twitter.com/lachlan/status/1110233959907102721
The Associated Press contributed to this article