BOSTON, May 16, 2013—A Roxbury woman was arraigned yesterday on charges she attempted to extort thousands of dollars from a man whose car brushed against her in traffic, allegedly telling the victim that she planned to use the cash for cosmetic surgery, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

DEBORAH YI (D.O.B. 2/1/89) was arraigned in South Boston District Court on a charge of extortion.  At the recommendation of Assistant District Attorney William Champlin, Judge Michael Bolden released Yi on her own recognizance on the conditions she stay away from and have no contact with the victim and report to probation once a month.

According to prosecutors, the victim, who is an attorney, reported to State Police that he stopped his vehicle in the Seaport District on Sunday after apparently brushing Yi, a pedestrian, as he turned from Seaport Lane onto Congress Street.  After speaking with Yi – who appeared uninjured and allegedly told him that she was okay – he exchanged contact information with her and offered her a ride to her place of employment, prosecutors said.

An hour later, Yi allegedly called the victim and said that she would not pursue criminal charges or go after the victim’s law firm if he paid her $7,000 that she intended to use for a breast enhancement, prosecutors said.  Yi allegedly called and texted the victim more than 10 times over the next 48 hours, each time indicating that she wanted money in return for not reporting the incident to police, prosecutors said.

By that time, however, the victim had already gone to State Police, who monitored the text messages and some of the calls.

At approximately 4:00 Tuesday afternoon, State Police looked on as the victim, wearing an audio/video recording device, met with Yi at Liberty Wharf.  The victim handed Yi an envelope containing $3,000, at which time she allegedly demanded another $3,500 within a day or two before they parted ways, prosecutors said.

State Police quickly arrested Yi, at which time she handed over the cash-filled envelope and allegedly made post-Miranda statements that she knew what she was doing was wrong but thought it was a way to get easy money.

Yi was represented by Joseph Mahaney.  She will return to court on July 16.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.