Lawyers for Michael Avenatti asked a Manhattan federal judge to exclude evidence of his  finances from an upcoming criminal trial on charges that the embattled attorney tried to extort Nike Inc. for about $25 million.

In a motion filed late Monday, Avenatti’s defense team said that federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York wanted to use Avenatti’s debts—on a Ferrari, a Porsche and an airplane—to establish his motive in carrying out the alleged scheme.