Prosecutors in Manhattan have urged a federal judge to hand Avenatti a hefty punishment for his attempts to extort millions of dollars from Nike. Although the government is calling for a tough sentence, it agrees with the probation office’s assertion that a below-guidelines sentence would be substantial enough. While the guidelines could put Avenatti away from 11 years minimum, the probation office is recommending an eight-year sentence.
Avenatti was found guilty on all counts in the Nike extortion trial in February 2020. Nike reported that the celebrity attorney had threatened to go public with condemning information about the company unless $1.5 million was handed over to him. He also demanded that Nike should hire him and co-counsel Mark Geragos to conduct an internal investigation, setting the retainer fee between $15 million and $25 million.
Avenatti requested a six-month sentence alongside a yearlong house arrest. He argues that this proposal is just as the offense is his first and no money was lost. However, prosecutors have firmly disagreed with the proposal, arguing that such a short sentence would send out the wrong message to the public and would fail to acknowledge the severity of the situation.
