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In
a motion filed in federal court in Manhattan, Avenatti said
prosecutors were engaging in a "supercilious and dangerous
attempt" to "regulate the practice of civil law" using a fraud
statute meant to go after public officials who accept bribes and
kickbacks.
A spokesman for the office of U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman,
which is prosecuting the case, declined to comment.
Avenatti, 48, gained notoriety for representing porn star Stormy
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, in lawsuits
involving President Donald Trump and his former personal lawyer
Michael Cohen.
He was arrested in March on charges including extortion.
Prosecutors accused him of threatening to publicize a claim by
one of his clients, a basketball club coach, that Nike arranged
for payments to elite college basketball recruits. Avenatti
demanded that the athletic wear company pay the coach $1.5
million and pay himself more than $20 million, prosecutors said.
On Wednesday, prosecutors unveiled a new charge, accusing
Avenatti of honest services fraud against the coach. Prosecutors
said Avenatti failed to tell the coach Nike had agreed to pay
him to settle the case as long as it did not have to pay
Avenatti himself, who continued trying to use the case for his
own benefit.
In his motion on Friday, Avenatti said the prosecutors had
failed to allege he directly lied to the coach. He argued they
were trying to use criminal law to "impose their own views of
when and what constitutes adequate client communication during
settlement negotiations."
In addition to the charges involving Nike, Avenatti faces a
separate criminal case in Manhattan in which he is accused of
stealing about $300,000 from Daniels after helping her secure a
book contract.
Federal prosecutors in California have also charged Avenatti
with wire fraud, bank fraud and other crimes, saying he stole
millions of dollars from clients.
Avenatti has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.
(Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Tom Brown)
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