The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Stormy Daniels' former lawyer Michael Avenatti of his conviction for attempting to extort Nike.
The court left in place Avenatti’s extortion and fraud convictions for pressuring the sportswear company to pay his client, a youth basketball coach who claimed the company made unlawful payments to high school athletes, and hire him and another lawyer to investigate the matter, reported NBC News.
Avenatti then threatened to go public with the allegations if Nike did not agree to his terms, prosecutors say.
Want more breaking political news? Click for the latest headlines at Raw Story.
A jury convicted him on two extortion-related counts and one charge of fraud under a federal law that against illegal kickbacks, and an appeals court upheld the convictions.
The brief order announcing the decision noted that justice Brett Kavanaugh did not participate in the decision, and while the court did not explain his absence, Avenatti represented several women during his confirmation hearings who accused him of sexual misconduct decades ago.
ALSO READ: What Trump's weird WWE Hall of Fame speech tells us about his presidential debate strategy
Avenatti was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for the extortion plot, and he has also been sentenced to 14 years in prison for cheating clients out of millions of dollars and to four years in prison for stealing money from Daniels.
He's currently incarcerated at a federal prison in California and is not scheduled for release until August 2035.
Recommended Links:
- 'It's disgusting and this guy's an absolute pig': Watch Michael Avenatti defend Stormy Daniels against Rudy Giuliani
- 'How do you have a show?': Michael Avenatti explodes as Fox News host Tucker Carlson interrupts and insults him
- Stormy Daniels unloads on Michael Avenatti -- and claims he hid key information from her
- 'Bottom of the barrel': MSNBC hit for jailhouse interview with Stormy Daniel's ex-lawyer
