Extortionist Crystal Cox got a favorable ruling yesterday in her appeal of a $2.5 million judgment against her by Obsidian Finance.  The appeals court’s ruling can be found here, and the bottom line is that the case has been kicked back for a new trial.

This does not mean, however, that what Crystal Cox does is acceptable. It just means that she gets a new shot at arguing her case in front of a jury. What does she do that is objectionable?

In this case involving Kevin Padrick and Obsidian Finance, Padrick was appointed as the trustee for the Summit Accommodators bankruptcy. It was then that Cox began her defamation of Padrick and Obsidian. When asked to remove the false materials from her websites, Cox told Padrick and Obsidian that if they paid her $2,500 per month, she would provide them with reputation management services.  Normal people recognize that as extortion. In the ruling published yesterday, the court said:

…Crystal Cox published blog posts on several websites that she created, accusing Padrick and Obsidian of fraud, corruption, money-laundering, and other illegal activities in connection with the Summit bankruptcy. Cox apparently has a history of making similar allegations and seeking payoffs in exchange for retraction.

Indeed, Cox has run this scam more than once. She finds a person or company with whom she disagrees, makes serious false allegations against them, litters the internet with her untruths, and then attempts to extort them. Pay Crystal Cox enough money, and she will restore your good name (the good name SHE herself ruined).

Cox argues that she is not an extortionist because she hasn’t been charged with a crime related to activities. But judges have called her what she is: an extortionist. And so have others.

Crystal Cox calls herself a journalist. She claims she is just an investigative reporter, informing people about fraud. She is neither a journalist nor an investigative reporter. She is an unbalanced individual who makes false allegations against professionals, based on nothing other than her wild conspiracy theories (and devoid of actual facts or proof).

Now, as Ken White discusses at Popehat, part of the Ninth Circuit’s decision in favor of a new trial for Cox articulated something he calls the Batshit-Crazy Rule:

Cox’s posts attacking people — Padrick, attorneys who have opposed her, bloggers and journalists who have angered her, me — come off as batshit-crazy. They make flamboyant and bizarre accusations that normal people would not credit.⁴ They do so on vividly-named sites, and employ an entire Souplantation’s worth of word-salad. They recursively cite each other, or Cox’s filings, rather than citing facts or evidence. They carry all the hallmarks of pervasive mental illness — but also, and more importantly for First Amendment purposes, hyperbole, bluster, and opinion.

Basically, Cox is so nutty and so unable to articulate a coherent argument support by actual facts, that her shit is not to be believed. Even when she sues the same large group of defendants over and over in various courts under her bizarre conspiracy theories.

Mr. White provides a comprehensive analysis of the appeals court ruling, Cox’s extortionate tendencies, and her conspiracy theories. I highly recommend that you take a look.

Regardless of this ruling, Cox is still not a journalist. She is an extortionist.