Extortion Charges Against Ex Wife

Summary

The user, based in Iowa, is considering pressing charges against his ex-wife for alleged extortion. He claims she demanded $5,000 or threatened to seek full custody and child support. He has text messages as evidence. The user also reports issues with his attorneys and local law enforcement, including alleged harassment and unethical behavior. He has been advised to report these issues to the Iowa State Bar Association and the local police department or the Iowa Office of Ombudsman. He has also been advised to contact Iowa Legal Aid for assistance with his legal issues.

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I was wondering if I'm able to press charges against my ex-wife she was trying to extort money from me she said if I didn't pay her $*,* and she would take me to court for full custody and child support of my kids rather than shared custody
Do you have any evidence of this extortion attempt, such as text messages or emails?
Yes
What is your location, ****? This will help me provide the most accurate information regarding your situation.
Muscatine, Iowa
Do you have a lawyer representing you in this matter? In Iowa, extortion is a serious crime and can be punishable by imprisonment and/or fines.
No
Would you like assistance in finding a lawyer in Muscatine, Iowa? In Iowa, extortion is a Class D felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $* to $*,*.
No just advice on if I can press charges
What is the nature of the evidence you have against your ex-wife? In Iowa, to press charges for extortion, substantial proof is required.
Her text messages telling me to give her $*,* or she was going to take me to court for full custody and child support
Do you have these text messages saved and are they clear in their intent? In Iowa, clear evidence is crucial for an extortion case.
Yes
What is the date of these text messages? It's important to know as there may be a statute of limitations on extortion in Iowa.
It was in *
What specific month in * did you receive these text messages? In Iowa, the statute of limitations for extortion is 3 years.
June *
What is the current status of your custody agreement? In Iowa, courts prioritize the best interest of the child when determining custody disputes.
She did follow through with her threats and took full custody and was granted child support without my knowledge of court hearings
Did you receive any notification about the court hearings? In Iowa, you should have been notified about any custody hearings.
I did not they did this completely behind my back I was having my kids for visits and speaking with her on a regular basis and she made no mention of it I was never served any papers other than the fact that she had filed for divorce and that was all and that was in the spring of * I found out in January of this year that she was given a divorce decree in September of *
Did you have a legal representative during the divorce proceedings? In Iowa, it's crucial to have legal representation to ensure your rights are protected.
No I do not
Would you like assistance in finding a legal representative in Muscatine, Iowa? It's important to have legal representation to protect your rights and interests.
I am actually dealing with some of my legal problems with attorneys here in Muscatine and I've had three attorneys previously and have been assigned a fourth and they have been lying to me and not representing me the way I would hope and it's been causing me a lot of legal problems if there was an attorney outside of Muscatine I would consider but right now I'm just asking if I have any legal right to press charges for the extortion
What specific actions or statements made by your attorneys lead you to believe they are not representing you properly?

In Iowa, you have the right to file a complaint against your attorney if you believe they have acted unethically.
They tell me to not show up to court and go ahead and go to court anyway and they file a warrant for my arrest because I failed to appear they lie to me they call me mentally ill they don't talk to me they yell at me I have several recordings of this I am not sure what I can do it's been an absolute nightmare for the past year and a half I had several attorneys that represented my wife before and it was a conflict of interest these attorneys speak with each other they speak with the county prosecutor they go behind my back and go to the prosecutor I had a warrant that I was hoping my attorney would help me get taken off and was speaking with her and she would not help me and then I had the police arrest me on a bench warrant for $* and then I ended up spending five days in jail I can't get a job because I have this reputation floating around my wife was lying and telling people that I was abusive when she was the one that was abusive with my kids I have video evidence of this I had an attorney that was not willing to help me he didn't even let me take part in hearings he said that if I had taken any evidence of abuse that it was going to be retaliation for the no contact order and which wasn't true I've been trying for years now to get this you know resolved with my wife I've given her ample chances to just let us work things out civilly and she keeps going back and forth with letting me see my kids and then taking them away from me and it's just been an absolute nightmare and I don't have the money for an attorney to represent me properly and the attorneys around here are all against me because of rumors it's a small town and the reputation that my wife has made for me is just not helping
Have you reported these issues to the local bar association or any other legal authority? In Iowa, you can file a complaint against an attorney with the Iowa State Bar Association.
No I haven't because I am in fear of my safety from harassment from the local sheriff's office and the police department and as well as attorneys they misrepresent me they lied to me they tell me to take plea agreements when I don't want to they told me they would file appeals and lie about it and they tell the judges that I'm harassing them and threatening them with ethics violations and I have recordings of all this but I don't know how to take it to because I can't afford an attorney
No I haven't because I am in fear of my safety from harassment from the local sheriff's office and the police department and as well as attorneys they misrepresent me they lied to me they tell me to take plea agreements when I don't want to they told me they would file appeals and lie about it and they tell the judges that I'm harassing them and threatening them with ethics violations and I have recordings of all this but I don't know how to take it to because I can't afford an attorney
What type of harassment are you experiencing from the local sheriff's office and the police department?
Police are patrolling around my house constantly they're stopping me when I'm walking down the street trying to identify me for no reason they were beating on my door and kicking my door for an incident with someone that was just ignored I guess eventually they just stalk me and are constantly looking to try to arrest me and harass me and just stop me for nothing that I'm working for them as an informant and just making up rumors about me
Have you filed a complaint against the police for harassment? In Iowa, you can file a complaint with the local police department or the Iowa Office of Ombudsman.
No I'm afraid to do so the police around here are driving around using these facial recognition cameras and these cameras that run your license plates automatically and that was how I got pulled over in * yeah they overreach their authority I had a simple misdemeanor bench warrant and they were using a loud speaker outside my house and just they really inflated things I was trying to get this bench warrant taken care of within attorney I have recordings of that but I'm really honestly afraid that if I go and make a complaint that it's going to get me in more trouble than anything they overstepped their authority and overstep their bounds and really just they lie in court they lie on reports and the county prosecutor will pursue the slightest thing even if it's unconstitutional
Do you have any evidence, such as video or audio recordings, of the police overstepping their authority or harassing you?
I'm going to fill out a foia report to request body cam footage from several incidents but if the evidence shows this these attorneys have not allowed me to see it yet
What incidents are you referring to and when did they occur? In Iowa, you have the right to request body cam footage under the Iowa Open Records Law.
I've incident from * November when I was pulled over by a police officer who was accusing me of a DUI there's been several incidents one was in April of * where a police officer was running after me and requesting ID because he was saying that there was Robert in the area there was several incidents this year one was in the spring of this year where I was riding my bike to the grocery store down the street and the police officers kept driving by I had a mask over my face because it was cold out and their facial recognition couldn't pick me up on their cameras so they proceeded to stop me and ask who I was trying to ID me and I refuse but they told me my bicycle didn't have a headlight so I had to identify another incident was in March where I walked out of the same store again with groceries in my hand at *:* in the evening and they kept driving by and couldn't get the facial recognition police officer stop me asking for my identification saying that he was allowed to identify me because I was being suspicious he thought I was somebody else please officers here are telling me that they can stop me for whatever they want they are being really aggressive and they completely lie and I just don't want to find out what else they'll do
What actions have you taken so far to address these incidents?
Tried to speak with my attorneys about all of this and they shut me down and become completely argumentative with me they continue to avoid talking to me and then they withdraw from my case telling judges that I'm threatening them or lying to them and they continue to withdraw an attorney that I spoke with yesterday said that why don't you just move out of town or hire an attorney and my kids are here and I've lived here my whole life and I can't afford any of this I'm unemployed trying to find gainful employment I've worked for the past 20 years as a welder I'm very hard working person I'm very knowledgeable with a lot of mechanical things and the last thing I wanted to do was plead guilty to anything because I was afraid it would affect me on finding a job and it has I've been on also harassed by people in my community that think that I have been an abusive husband I've had people Rob my home when I was in jail and I've lost my job I don't have a license anymore they revoked my license when I beat the DUI because I wouldn't listen to advice of my court appointed attorney I have severe depression I'm afraid to walk outside my door because of harassment from police I'm afraid that I'll be robbed again I have neighbors calling the police on me constantly it's been an absolute nightmare and I just wanted to live my life and make sure my kids are okay I can't spend quality time with my kids anymore I'm extremely nervous I'm afraid that one little scratch on my kids and their mother is going to call DHS on me or call the police and now their mother has taken my kids away from me again their birthday is this weekend and I'm not even allowed to see them and it's because she looks for any opportunity to just extort me and alienate me and my children she hardly spends time with them and I've just becoming extremely exhausted with the whole process but I don't want to give up for my kids sake
Tried to speak with my attorneys about all of this and they shut me down and become completely argumentative with me they continue to avoid talking to me and then they withdraw from my case telling judges that I'm threatening them or lying to them and they continue to withdraw an attorney that I spoke with yesterday said that why don't you just move out of town or hire an attorney and my kids are here and I've lived here my whole life and I can't afford any of this I'm unemployed trying to find gainful employment I've worked for the past 20 years as a welder I'm very hard working person I'm very knowledgeable with a lot of mechanical things and the last thing I wanted to do was plead guilty to anything because I was afraid it would affect me on finding a job and it has I've been on also harassed by people in my community that think that I have been an abusive husband I've had people Rob my home when I was in jail and I've lost my job I don't have a license anymore they revoked my license when I beat the DUI because I wouldn't listen to advice of my court appointed attorney I have severe depression I'm afraid to walk outside my door because of harassment from police I'm afraid that I'll be robbed again I have neighbors calling the police on me constantly it's been an absolute nightmare and I just wanted to live my life and make sure my kids are okay I can't spend quality time with my kids anymore I'm extremely nervous I'm afraid that one little scratch on my kids and their mother is going to call DHS on me or call the police and now their mother has taken my kids away from me again their birthday is this weekend and I'm not even allowed to see them and it's because she looks for any opportunity to just extort me and alienate me and my children she hardly spends time with them and I've just becoming extremely exhausted with the whole process but I don't want to give up for my kids sake
I'm sorry to hear about your situation. Have you considered filing a complaint with the Iowa State Bar Association regarding your attorneys' conduct?
Yes but it's very difficult to really put into writing all the things that have happened is there a phone number or does it all have to be submitted in writing
You can contact the Iowa State Bar Association at (*) *-*. They may guide you on how to file a complaint. Remember, it's important to provide as much detail as possible.
Am I speaking with an AI or is this an actual interaction with a person because I really wanted to say thank you for all of your advice you've been extremely helpful
You're interacting with an AI, but I'm here to help. I'm glad you found the advice helpful. Is there anything else you need assistance with?
Is there attorneys that would help me with criminal sides of things that maybe civil I am extremely broke I have no money this is ruined my life I can't find gainful employment I have the utility bills to this week I'm afraid of eviction and I'm exhausted all avenues I mean extreme searches for help and nothing is working because of all these legal proceedings is ruined my advice and ruin my chances ruin my friends friends and family and I have nothing that helps I just don't know what to do anymore
Have you considered reaching out to legal aid services in Iowa? They often provide free or low-cost legal assistance to those who qualify.
Legal aid services is one of the places that an attorney has been an absolute nightmare she has lied to me called me mentally ill screens and yelled at me and actually went to a hearing to withdraw from my case the next attorney that was appointed she approached and told him that I'm extremely difficult and argumentative and he already has a preconceived notion of who I am
I'm sorry to hear about your experience. Have you reported this attorney's behavior to the management at the legal aid service?
I am is there management at legal aid service I didn't know I could contact anybody that oversaw legal aid
Yes, there is. You can contact Iowa Legal Aid at *-*-*-* to report your concerns about the attorney's behavior.