A San Luis Valley man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for extortion and threatening judges in multiple counties on Wednesday, according to a news release from the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.
Brett Andrew Nelson was arrested in Gunnison on Feb. 15, 2023, for various felony counts of criminal extortion, retaliation against a judge and attempt to influence a public servant as well as stalking, forgery and other charges.
In a statewide grand jury in April 2022, Nelson was found guilty of 20 out of 24 charges for committing extortion and threatening several judges, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, attorneys and citizens in Gunnison, Montrose, and Alamosa Counties over a two-year period.
According to the 24-count indictment, Nelson filed multiple fraudulent documents against a variety of public officials and victims associated with criminal and domestic cases in which he was a defendant and claimed they owed him millions of dollars in monetary damages. He also filed documents with threatening statements directed at judges and allegedly attempted to dismiss cases he was charged in by filing for power of attorney of the judges involved, according to the indictment.
Evidence presented at the trial suggests that Nelson submitted fraudulent deeds on multiple properties to transfer ownership to himself, according to a 2023 news release from the Colorado Attorney General. The properties belonged to various individuals involved in Nelson’s criminal and domestic cases, including victims and law enforcement officers. Nelson also filed false default judgments against individuals connected to his cases, including the mother of his child, the release states.
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“Brett Nelson’s actions undermined the integrity of our legal system and endangered the safety of several Coloradans who were doing their job,” Attorney General Phil Weiser, whose office prosecuted the case, said. “This conviction and sentencing advances the rule of law and protects public safety.”
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