Michael Avenatti sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for Nike extortion scheme

Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who became famous for representing adult film star Stormy Daniels and publicly sparring with then-President Donald Trump, was sentenced in New York Thursday to 30 months in prison for trying to extort millions of dollars from Nike.

Avenatti, 50, was convicted last year on charges that he tried to extort up to $25 million from the sportswear giant as he represented a Los Angeles youth basketball league organizer upset Nike had ended its league sponsorship. "Mr. Avenatti's conduct was outrageous. He hijacked his clients' claims and he used those claims to further his own agenda which was to extort millions of dollars from Nike for himself," U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe said Thursday when handing down the sentence, according to the Washington Post's Devlin Barrett.