Attorney Sam Avenatti alleges Nike involvement in NCAA basketball payments amid his arrest

for comment Tuesday. A message seeking comment from Geragos was also not returned. Avenatti shot to national prominence last year representing Stormy Daniels, the porn actress who took $130,000 from Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to stay quiet about her affair with the future president and then sued to void the deal. The brash lawyer seemed to relish needling Trump and others on countless cable news appearances and on Twitter. He also faced mounting legal troubles in the form of a $10 million judgment stemming from the breakup of his old firm, Eagan Avenatti LLP, and accusations from former partners that he hid millions in assets. Avenatti also split with Daniels in recent weeks. Daniels said Monday she was "saddened but not shocked" by news of Avenatti's arrest, and that he had dealt with her "extremely dishonestly." Despite the recent setbacks, Avenatti was back on Twitter less than 24 hours after his arrest, saying Nike had made payments to the mother of Phoenix Suns player DeAndre Ayton while he was a college player and to University of Oregon center Bol Bol. "A lot of people at Nike will have to account for their criminal conduct, starting with Carlton DeBose & moving higher up. The diversion charade they orchestrated against me will be exposed," he tweeted. DeBose is the head of Nike's youth basketball division. A Nike spokesperson on Tuesday referred to a company statement that it has been cooperating with a government investigation into NCAA basketball for more than a year, and would not "be extorted or hide information" relevant to that probe. The case is U.S. v. Avenatti, case number 19-mj-2927, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_031778