5-15-14 waupun man-extortion

A Waupun man convicted on charges of extorting money by impersonating a judge and a police officer is going to jail. Dodge County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Sciascia ordered a withheld sentence for 27 year old James Dunham and placed Dunham on four years probation with a conditional six months in jail. He must also pay over 10 thousand dollars in restitution. Dunham pleaded no contest to charges of threats to injure or accuse of crime and misappropriating identification information to obtain money. Prosecutors say Dunham learned that a Beaver Dam area man allegedly had sexual contact with a 16-year-old girl and his cousin. Officials say Dunham then called the man and passed himself off as a Beaver Dam police officer, saying he would keep quiet about the sexual allegations if the subject paid him money. Officials say Dunham later texted his victim, claiming to be a judge who demanded money -- or else he would forward the allegations to a prosecutor. The subject told police he had a relationship with a woman he thought was 24 -- and he only learned she was 16 after her mother contacted him. After two months of calls, the man ended up paying Dunham around nine thousand dollars. Investigators say no actual officers were involved in the case.