Winchester, VA asked in Contracts for Virginia

Q: If someone lies to obtain criminal charges and later demands financial compensation to drop charges, is this extortion?

Someone went to the magistrate and swore out a completely fraudulent criminal complaint against me that led to my arrest and charges of domestic abuse. I have surveillance video that shows every statement in the self-made victim’s complaint is completely false. The county prosecutor’s office is thus far refusing to outright drop the criminal case against me because the self-made victim is demanding they prosecute me for the crime. The prosecutor’s office needs the self-made victim to ask that the charges be dropped. In discussions between my counsel and the self-made victim’s personal counsel (not the prosecutor), it has become clear they are seeking not only financial compensation in order to request the fraudulent criminal charge(s) be dropped but also an agreement that neither party will sue the other for any purpose going forward. Does opposing counsel’s negotiation tactic constitute extortion?

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1 Lawyer Answer

A: Sure sounds like extortion to me. However, since you think "extortion" is the opposing counsel's "negotiation tactic," and since you also have a lawyer, you are advised to instruct your lawyer to file a criminal complaint against the PARTY (not his lawyer) who filed the bogus criminal complaint against you.

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