Attorney Michael Avenatti still claims the Nike executives, who he allegedly extorted, will be punished for their crimes.
Avenatti was arrested Monday for allegedly scheming to extort over $20 million from Nike executives. Right before his indictment, Avenatti announced on Twitter that he would be holding a press conference to expose a basketball scandal that he said implicated Nike.
TMZ caught up with Avenatti Wednesday night and he claimed that he was planning on exposing Nike regardless of whether the company paid him or not.
“They knew we were going to expose them regardless of what they paid us. We were never going to allow them to cover this up. We made it clear to them,” Avenatti said. “They knew they couldn’t buy us and they knew they couldn’t silence us and that’s why they pulled this stunt.” (RELATED: Avenatti Facing A Lot Of Years Behind Bars)
Avenatti says that once more facts are revealed that everyone involved in the scandal will be punished.
“I’m looking forward to the truth and the facts coming to light because they lied to the government,” Avenatti said. “Once the government realizes what happened, Nike is going to be in a lot of trouble.”
As previously reported, in a March 19 conversation with Nike, Avenatti demanded payment and in exchange would keep damaging information about the company from going public and required that Nike hire him to complete an investigation into the company.