Legal Question in Criminal Law in Wisconsin

Pay up or law suit.../extortion

I logged into someone's email (I knew their password) and

they found out and had proof. They said they were going to press

charges, and I said I would like to handle it without criminal charges/law

enforcement. A few days later they asked me how much money I thought

was fair, and I said 200. They then said they wanted $1500 within 5 days

or they'd contact my school and the authorities and press charges. They

said if I tried contacting them, they'd press charges as well.

Could this qualify as extortion even though I had originally said ''I would

like to settle this without criminal charges?''


Asked on 4/11/07, 12:33 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Johm Smith tom's

Re: Pay up or law suit.../extortion

Threatening criminal prosecution is a crime and including a demand for money makes it much worse. You should have an attorney contact this person and make it clear that they must stop violating the law. However, they can still report you to the police if you broke the law. You should get a local attorney to help you with this very important matter.

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Answered on 4/11/07, 1:51 pm
JAY Nixon nixon law offices

Re: Pay up or law suit.../extortion

My first question to you would be how you came up with their log in information. If you were given it freely and voluntarily by the owner, you may have an argument that their giving you their "secret question" response implied consent for you to use it. Of course, I could not begin to advise you without thorough investigation regardless of your answer to my question. You need representation no matter what the history is, in my opinion.

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Answered on 4/11/07, 8:50 pm


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