Is Exhortion Legal?

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? IL

My business is being sued by this attorney, who is all over the internet and is known as an extortionist.

He accused me of sending one of his clients a junk fax. (untrue, and its baseless, which is his MO)

He sent me what looked like junk mail, and demanded $2000, or else he would file a lawsuit.

I called him and told him I was not aware of any wrong doing, and he was very unprofessional and demanded the money, "or else I am going to sue"

I then got another extortionist letter in August. Which again looked like junk mail, and I threw it in the trash.

Now, I received a summons, and he is threatening a class action lawsuit, which again is baseless. I researched this attorney, and he is known of exhorting money out of small businesses by threatening to sue him.

I found it strange that his exhortion letter was asking for $2000 and then now he is suing me for $5 million.

I know I am innocent and did do anything.

I want to counter sue for damages, emotional distress, and if he does have any evidence, its all fraudulent, so I would include fraud in the picture too.

Are attornies allowed to act like this? He is all over the internet.

BTW, I guess this guy did not do his research because he would know that the company is broke, (as am I) and even in the most ideal situation, he would stil never collect on his judgement if there was one.

What grounds can I counter sue? This is foreign to him, and he is not used to people calling him on his fraudulent behavior.

After all this is over, I am turning him over to the state and federal bar associations for investigation.

If someone is suing you for $5 million - even if they have no case (and a junk fax? C'mon!) - you need to speak to an attorney of your own. You may not think you can afford one, but if this guy is an attorney, he can run a couple of fast maneuvers that force you to respond in short order, and your failure to do so properly could result in a default judgment.

Consult legal counsel. Paying one of your own in the near term is much better than paying this leech in the long run.

Yes, you are right. I've come to grips with having to get an attorney, and the guy is obviously a slim ball.

I know this attorney is guilty of fraud, I hope to counter sue for him damages and fraud.