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Is what I want to say "illegal" and could get arrested for

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I have a corrupt businessman who owes me $2,000. He also forged my signature on several pages of a contract.

Would I get into trouble if I told him "Give me my money or I'm going to turn you into the police for forgery?"

You can't say anything these days without getting into trouble.
 


PayrollHRGuy

Senior Member
If that is correct.





711.4 Extortion.

1. A person commits extortion if the person does any of the following with the purpose of obtaining for oneself or another anything of value, tangible or intangible, including labor or services:


  1. Threatens to inflict physical injury on some person, or to commit any public offense.

  2. Threatens to accuse another of a public offense.

  3. Threatens to expose any person to hatred, contempt, or ridicule.

  4. Threatens to harm the credit or business or professional reputation of any person.

  5. Threatens to take or withhold action as a public officer or employee, or to cause some

public official or employee to take or withhold action.

f. Threatens to testify or provide information or to withhold testimony or information with respect to another’s legal claim or defense.

g. Threatens to wrongfully injure the property of another.


  1. Extortion is a class “D” felony.

  2. It is a defense to a charge of extortion that the person making a threat other than a

threat to commit a public offense, reasonably believed that the person had a right to make such threats in order to recover property, or to receive compensation for property or services, or to recover a debt to which the person has a good faith claim.

[C51, §2590; R60, §4213; C73, §3871; C97, §4767; S13, §4767; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §13164; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, §720.1; C79, 81, §711.4]

2013 Acts, ch 90, §231 Referred to in §711.3B
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
The case law is that if you are making a threat in the course of a good faith effort to recover something that is owed, then extortion doesn't apply. In this case, if it was the forgery that resulted in the $2000 debt, then you may escape an extortion conviction. If you just plucked $2000 out of the air as some perceived damages by the forger, then you're guilty of extortion. It's a fine line, so it's best not to make such threats.
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
711.4. 3. It is a defense to a charge of extortion that the person making a threat other than a threat to commit a public offense, reasonably believed that the person had a right to make such threats in order to recover property, or to receive compensation for property or services, or to recover a debt to which the person has a good faith claim.
FIFY
 
I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get a copy of the recording that took place in which he lied to me twice thus coercing me into signing a contract under false pretenses.
Now before everybody says "you signed the contract" check out Iowa's consumer protection law that "if one person lies and the person who lies is reasonably sure that the other party will be relying on his lie, the contract can be broken." How do you think that would fly in a small claims court if I also had the recording of the conversation?

2. What if I said the following to the person. "well you know you lied to me about the credit rate I was going to be getting. Then you say, "let me calculate the payment" And you lied about that. And you told me to sign on this line to opt out of gap insurance when in small letters it says, "sign here if you want gap insurance." Now a judge in small claims court may not care about any of this and I would lose the case and not get my $2,000 back. And I will be showing the judge how you falsified my signature on 4 or 5 documents and maybe that would help my case or maybe not. And the judge may take those falsified signatures and press charges or probably not because I hear that car dealers do this on a regular basis and the law just looks the other way.
Now I don't want this car and I don't want this sales contract. Now what can we do to rectify this? (is that still threatening?)
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get a copy of the recording that took place in which he lied to me twice thus coercing me into signing a contract under false pretenses.
Now before everybody says "you signed the contract" check out Iowa's consumer protection law that "if one person lies and the person who lies is reasonably sure that the other party will be relying on his lie, the contract can be broken." How do you think that would fly in a small claims court if I also had the recording of the conversation?

2. What if I said the following to the person. "well you know you lied to me about the credit rate I was going to be getting. Then you say, "let me calculate the payment" And you lied about that. And you told me to sign on this line to opt out of gap insurance when in small letters it says, "sign here if you want gap insurance." Now a judge in small claims court may not care about any of this and I would lose the case and not get my $2,000 back. And I will be showing the judge how you falsified my signature on 4 or 5 documents and maybe that would help my case or maybe not. And the judge may take those falsified signatures and press charges or probably not because I hear that car dealers do this on a regular basis and the law just looks the other way.
Now I don't want this car and I don't want this sales contract. Now what can we do to rectify this? (is that still threatening?)
Are you going on about your car deal? KEEP YOUR RELATED QUESTIONS IN THE SAME THREAD.

https://forum.freeadvice.com/threads/car-dealer-lied-about-interest-rate.658503

(To the other responders: Post Hx - it's a doozy!)
 
Yes, he did both. Forged on Gap Insurance (supporting documents that said I agreed to it?)

Here's the bottom line. Even if I get the recording and the falsified documents do I even have a chance of breaking the contract and getting my money back?
 

PayrollHRGuy

Senior Member
Your big problem is you have at least two third parties involved. The GAP insurance provider and the finance company.

Wait, how do you not already have copies of the documents? Did you not get copies at the time you did the deal?
 

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