Utah Woman Accused of Kidnapping and Extortion Faces Fresh Legal Trouble

GOSHEN, Utah County – A Utah woman already entangled in multiple criminal cases—one involving an alleged child kidnapping plot and another accusing her of trying to extort a town mayor—now faces additional charges for a separate extortion attempt in Arizona.

Amanda Kaye Bachman, 52, has been charged with attempted theft by extortion, a third-degree felony, in 4th District Court. Prosecutors say she attempted to coerce money from a woman in Arizona by threatening legal action.

Facebook Messages Demand $2 Million

According to court documents, in August 2023, an Arizona woman received a Facebook message warning that she would be named in a federal lawsuit as a trafficker. The message claimed authorities had enough evidence to prove she had been involved in trafficking for years.

The sender—later traced to Bachman—proposed a deal: donate $2 million to her nonprofit, with $50,000 paid upfront and the remainder due by the end of September, in exchange for not filing the lawsuit.

A week later, the woman received another message reinforcing the threat:
“I have already told you who I am and how long I have been watching, truly waiting for when ‘the time is ripe’ to bring you down,” the message read, according to investigators.

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Authorities obtained search warrants on the social media account and linked the messages to Bachman, leading to the new charges.

Bachman’s Troubling Legal History

This latest charge adds to Bachman’s growing list of legal troubles. She is already facing charges for allegedly orchestrating a child kidnapping attempt in Vernal last year. In that case, she has been charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary, obstruction of justice, and other offenses. A pretrial conference was set for Wednesday in that case.

Additionally, she is accused of attempting to extort and harass the mayor of Goshen, Utah. Prosecutors allege she falsely claimed on social media that the mayor was involved in child trafficking. She faces second-degree felony charges for theft by extortion and bribery to influence official actions, with a pretrial hearing scheduled for January 23.

With multiple legal battles ahead, Bachman now faces increasing scrutiny as authorities build their cases against her.

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