NEW YORK (AP) — An indictment charging California attorney Michael Avenatti with conspiring to extort Nike has been rewritten to drop two conspiracy counts.
In a tweet, Avenatti said he was “extremely pleased” and expects eventually to be “fully exonerated.”
The refreshed indictment returned Wednesday in Manhattan federal court adds an honest services wire fraud charge.
Avenatti has pleaded not guilty to charges he committed extortion by threatening to publicly reveal dirty dealings by Nike in college athletics if he wasn’t paid up to $25 million.
Avenatti also faces fraud charges in Los Angeles federal court and in a separate New York case after he was charged with cheating porn star Stormy Daniels of book deal income. Avenatti once represented Daniels over a nondisclosure deal regarding an alleged affair with President Donald Trump.
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