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Is This Extortion By Letter? What Are My Options?

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Location: California

I received a letter, via USPS mail from a relative, demanding I hand over something of value to them. In the letter under a heading, "consequence of non-compliance," they stated they will take "legal action" and "not hesitate to exercise protections" of pressing felony and misdemeanor charges for crime(s) I did not do.

My interpretation of California Penal Code Section 523 indicates this is extortion by letter. Wanting to protect myself, I went to the city police department to file a report, but the police officer said this is a civil matter. I argued that this is a civil matter that escalated to a criminal matter with the letter threating felony and misdemeanor charges. The sender has no right to file a false police report, with no evidence of a crime. My argument fell on deaf ears and the officer refused to make a report. What's infuriating is that I inquired, if the sender does follow through and makes false allegations without proof, would they receive the same response. The police officer says if the allegations are serious enough, they would investigate. It seems based the response and crime statistics , the police only report crimes such as violent crimes, theft, burglaries, etc.

What recourse do I have to protect myself given the local PD won't file a report? Should I go to the county Sheriff's Department?

submitted by /u/EnvironmentalMood683
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