What Should I Do If Someone Threatens to File False Criminal Charges Against Me in Ohio?

Attorney Answer

Since a lawyer and a police officer have already told you that you're the victim here, the priority now is documenting everything and making sure there's an official record, before any threat turns into an actual filed report.

Threatening to report someone for a crime they didn't commit, especially when the threat is being used as leverage over you, can itself be a crime in Ohio. The state's extortion law, Ohio Revised Code Section 2905.11, makes it illegal to use certain threats, including threats of false accusations that would damage a person's reputation, for the purpose of obtaining a valuable thing or benefit or pushing someone into an unlawful act. If that fits your situation, the person making the threats may be the one exposed to criminal liability, not you.

Ohio law also generally makes it a crime to knowingly make a false statement to law enforcement in order to incriminate someone else, so if this person ever follows through and files a false report, that carries real consequences for them as well.

What to do now:

1. Preserve the threats themselves — screenshots, texts, voicemails, emails, and the names of anyone who heard them. Those are the evidence. Do not write out your own account of the underlying dispute; if a false report is made and you are questioned, give your account to a lawyer verbally rather than in writing. 2. Save texts, voicemails, emails, or messages where the threats appear, and don't delete anything even if it's upsetting to look at. 3. Since you've already spoken with a police officer, ask whether an incident report was filed documenting the threat itself and your status as the person being threatened. If not, ask that one be created. 4. Avoid engaging directly with the person making the threats. Route communication through the police or an attorney if contact continues. 5. If the threats are ongoing or escalating, ask an attorney whether a civil protection order is appropriate in your situation.

Since you've already gotten informal confirmation from both a lawyer and an officer that you're the victim, formalizing that with a written record protects you if this situation changes later, for example if the other person does eventually file something or the threats continue. Keeping your own documentation now means you won't be starting from scratch if that happens.

This is general legal information, not legal advice, and a local Ohio criminal defense attorney can review your specific situation, including whether the threats themselves should be reported as a crime.