A Washington state man was charged with extortion after federal officials claim he launched a cyberattack against Dallas-based Leagle.com for refusing to remove the link to a court opinion involving him.

Kamyar Jahanrakhshan, also known as Andy Rakhshan, of Seattle, was arrested by the FBI on a federal extortion charge July 29. According to the criminal complaint, Leagle.com was contacted by an Andy Rakhshan, who emailed the website in late 2014 complaining a link to a court opinion he was the plaintiff in was “tarnishing his reputation” and violated his privacy. He offered to pay $100 to remove the link.

In a follow up email, Rakhshan claimed the court opinion in question was a criminal matter for which he was found guilty, though he denied his guilt. He demanded an explanation for why Leagle.com would not remove the link, offered another $100 to take it down, and closed with the words: “I DESERVE AN EXPLANATION NOW.”

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