Federal prosecutors on Wednesday dropped two counts of conspiracy against Michael Avenatti from the case, which was first made public in March, according to a superseding indictment filed in federal court in Manhattan.
Federal prosecutors added a new fraud charge against the celebrity lawyer, accusing him of lying to a client as part of his alleged effort to extort Nike Inc.
Avenatti has pleaded not guilty to charges he committed extortion by threatening to publicly reveal college basketball recruiting violations by Nike if he wasn’t paid up to $25 million.
