Falsely Accused of a Crime? Extorted or Harassed by a Lunatic? Fight Back!
Time and time again, clients have hired us due to false accusations of rape or assault by people they know: an angry ex, a soon to be former wife, a college date feeling remorseful after a night of sex – or just some stalker hoping to extort our client out of some money with the threat of going to the police with a tall tale. Traditionally, we have investigated the cases immediately and gotten the cases tossed out, cases as serious as Assault in the First Degree (New York Penal Law § 120.10) and Rape in the First Degree (New York Penal Law § 130.35), both punishable by up to decades in prison. But lately we have done more than simply get the cases tossed out: we have gone after the accusers both civilly and criminally. In some instances, additionally, we have gotten the accusers arrested before they could even make good on their threat to bring a false accusation to law enforcement if an extortion payment was not made by our client. Such serious, but false, accusations are deeply hurtful, damaging – and potentially life-altering. They require more than fighting off the prosecutor’s criminal charge since the accuser, despite making a false accusation, will otherwise suffer no harm once the case is dismissed. By getting the complainant arrested or sued for damages, you can be sure that your accuser will never be heard from again – which is exactly what you want and need.
Why Allow Yourself to be Extorted by a “Girlfriend” You Met Online? Have Them Arrested Instead
When charged with a serious “he said/she said” type of crime in New York – usually rape or assault – clients are so terrified of facing potentially decades in jail or the damage to their careers or schooling, that they are hugely relieved when the cases are dismissed after the results of our intensive investigations are shown to prosecutors. But the “victims” making up such false accusations: a scorned ex, an angry ex-wife, a gold digging “girlfriend”– are not the type of people deterred by a dismissed case – and the stalking or harassment can continue. The best New York criminal defense attorneys are aware of this, and will go all out to punish the false accuser to ensure that the accuser gets the strong message to stay away forever.
Recently a wealthy client of ours was being harassed by a girlfriend he met on a dating site. She pushed him to marry her and when he refused, she began a barrage of harassing telephone calls filled with threats: if our client did not pay her $25,000 she would go to the police with a claim that he assaulted her. He refused and then she began threatening to go to our client’s ex-wife and daughter to spread lies about him in an effort to harm visitation rights with his daughter. When that failed, she sent him ultrasound pictures and claimed she was pregnant – and for a fee of, yes you guessed it – $25,000 – she would undergo an abortion. Our client came to us, desperate for help. We had him preserve all texts and voicemail from his tormentor and approached the District Attorney’s Office with our evidence. With the help of detectives, the accuser was lured to a meeting with our client where she was arrested and charged with Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree (New York Penal Law § 240.30) a misdemeanor, but also Attempted Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (New York Penal Law § 155.35), a felony. Grand Larceny of Extortion is defined under New York Penal Law § 155.05 (2)(e). At her arraignment, where she was facing years in jail, she was ordered to stay away from our client. Oh and upon arrest she confessed to faking the ultrasound pictures – she was not pregnant, after all. Problem solved.
Falsely Accused of Rape or Assault? Get the Case Dismissed — and Sue Your Accuser
Another false accusation case we handled involved a college student being investigated for Rape in the First Degree in Alabama, punishable by a minimum of 10 years to a potential life sentence. Alabama Code § 13A-6-61. After an extensive investigation involving the accuser’s social media accounts as well as speaking to witnesses, we presented our findings to the prosecutor who, in turn, submitted our evidence to the Grand Jury investigating the allegations. The Grand Jury refused to vote a rape indictment against our client due to the massive amount of impeachment evidence against the accuser we provided — a result which rarely occurs — and our client was given his life back. But did he really deserve the torture he went through for six months, which included dropping out of school? Of course not. So we sent the accuser a demand letter and draft civil complaint we planned to file against her; eventually, we received a very satisfactory settlement offer which was accepted.
Don’t Just Take the Abuse — Fight Back!
There is simply no good reason to allow someone to falsely accuse you of a serious crime, or harass and extort you. Tormentors believe they can get away with their behavior without any repercussions: we believe otherwise. Whether the situation requires a visit from our investigator to convince the abuser that an arrest will be forthcoming if the behavior doesn’t stop — or an actual arrest or even a civil lawsuit to formally end the abusive behavior, we have the right formula to help get your life back to normal. A high profile New York criminal lawyer with decades of success will give you the credibility you need to convince your accuser that you are not the appropriate target for their extortion or false accusations. Give us a call today at (212) 581-1001 to discuss your options and ensure that you are no longer a victim.