Criminal – Extortion

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Where a defendant was found guilty of attempting to extort a Puerto Rico government official, the defendant should be denied relief on appeal despite his assertion that the evidence was insufficient to support any of the three counts on which he was convicted, the government violated his due process rights by suborning perjury from witnesses, the trial evidence materially varied from the allegations in the indictment, the trial court violated his Sixth Amendment rights in managing the admission of evidence, and the trial court improperly instructed the jury.

“A federal jury found that appellant Sixto Jorge Diaz-Colon attempted to extort a Puerto Rico government official by threatening the release of communications politically damaging to the then-governor and his administration unless the official arranged a $300,000 payment and met other demands. … He also was found guilty of transmitting a threatening communication and destroying records pertaining to a federal investigation. …

“In this appeal, Diaz-Colon asserts multiple errors in his prosecution and trial. He claims that the evidence was insufficient to support any of the three counts on which he was convicted, the government violated his due process rights by suborning perjury from witnesses, the trial evidence materially varied from the allegations in the indictment, the district court violated his Sixth Amendment rights in managing the admission of evidence, and the court improperly instructed the jury. After carefully reviewing the record, we find no merit in any of these contentions and therefore affirm the convictions.”

United States v. Diaz-Colon (Lawyers Weekly No. 01-262-25) (85 pages) (Lipez, J.) Appealed from the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico (Docket No. 23-1692) (Dec. 22, 2025).

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