IANAL but I believe criminal defamation is (ta-da!) a criminal offense. Defamation in service of the crime of extortion -- depends on the jurisdiction you decide to prosecute this in. Since the internet is everywhere, you might be able to choose the jurisdiction with the harshest penalty...Singapore? Want to see a scammer flogged? You could sell tickets.
Furthermore, since this person (we don't actually know "his" gender, now do we?) has established a clear pattern -- and the victims should be easy to identify -- getting together with 16 other of them could constitute a class, for the purposes of waging a class action suit. Finally, one way to track down this person (I use the term loosely) is to offer a small partial payment of the "debt" -- and see who cashes the check. On Sat, Jun 28, 2014 at 5:55 PM, William Herrin <[email protected]> wrote: > On Sat, Jun 28, 2014 at 10:32 AM, Markus <[email protected]> wrote: > > Do you think the PI route makes sense? Any other recommendations? Your > > feedback in general? > > Howdy, > > Some information for you to consider: > > 1. There are two things going on here: extortion and libel. > > 2. Extortion is a crime. However, unless a substantial sum was > requested (much more than $1000) it may not be a felony. It can be > federal crime, but if you know who did it and where that individual > is, you'll have better luck pursuing it under state law. Local cops > don't need to justify travel expenses to investigate a local crime. > > 3. The first thing the law enforcement officer will ask you is: are > you prepared to come to the US and testify in court that the > individual you accuse in fact did what you accused them of. If the > answer is no, the case is usually over. > > 4. The next thing they'll want is some evidence. They need to get > enough evidence for "probable cause" so they can ask a judge for a > warrant to search the guy's house, computer, etc. Google the term and > read about it to learn what level of evidence constitutes probable > cause. The more money their department would have to spend to achieve > probable cause, the less attention they'll give the case. Hand it to > them on a platter and you're golden. > > 5. Understand that criminal law is about punishing crimes, not making > things right for the victim. Law enforcement's agenda is it's agenda, > not yours. They're interested in putting the guy in jail, not making > him undo the damage he did to you. > > > 6. Libel, harmfully lying in writing, is not a crime: it's a tort. You > can sue the guy in court but law enforcement won't get involved. Also, > it's covered under state law, not federal. You'll have to sue him > either in the locality where he posted the libel from or in a locality > where you can prove you were specifically harmed by the libel. Nowhere > else has jurisdiction. > > 7. You'll have to prove you were actually harmed by the libel. So he > claimed you are a child molester. Boo hoo. How much money did you lose > from who and where as a result? If you can't prove you lost money, > don't waste your time. > > 8. Chat with a lawyer. Before you hire a PI or contact law enforcement > or do anything else, hire a lawyer in the area where you believe this > creep lives, show him what you have and ask his advice. A few hours of > a lawyer's time doesn't cost a fortune and he'll be able to give you a > realistic picture of your options. > > Regards, > Bill Herrin > > > -- > William D. Herrin ................ [email protected] [email protected] > 3005 Crane Dr. ...................... Web: <http://bill.herrin.us/> > Falls Church, VA 22042-3004 >
