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Victorian prosecutors withdrew the blackmail charge against Joel Leavitt on 1 October 2026, so the allegation did not go to trial and there was no verdict on it. Reporting says prosecutors had concerns about whether the alleged conduct could meet the legal threshold for blackmail. Leavitt pleaded guilty that day to two separate offences and was fined $2,000.
What happened in court
ABC News reported that prosecutors withdrew the blackmail charge against Leavitt on 1 October 2026. The charge had alleged that he made a $663,000 blackmail demand against a business owner; that amount and the alleged conduct remain allegations, not findings made at trial. The alleged dispute concerned a debt linked to a land development project and an earthmoving business, and a meeting at Cedar Meats in Brooklyn involving the company’s CEO, Jason Hopp, according to ABC News.
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Leavitt also pleaded guilty on 1 October to failing to provide police with his phone PIN and engaging in debt collection despite being prohibited from doing so because of a 2023 assault conviction. Magistrate Donna Bakos convicted him of those offences and fined him $2,000. Those guilty pleas and convictions are separate from the withdrawn blackmail charge. ABC reported that blackmail carried a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment.
What the recording was reported to capture
A syndicated copy of a newspaper report said detectives obtained a covert recording of Leavitt speaking with the alleged victim. In that report, Leavitt is quoted as saying he could be “very convincing when he needed to be”. After the alleged victim said he owed no debt, Leavitt was reported to have said, “Someone has to pay.”
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The quoted words come from the syndicated report, not an independently reviewed recording or transcript. Their meaning and context were part of the contested allegation; the quotes alone do not establish that blackmail occurred.
Why prosecutors reportedly withdrew the charge
The syndicated report attributed the withdrawal to legal concerns about whether the alleged conduct could unequivocally amount to blackmail. It said the issue included whether the words used and visits with men wearing patched bikie clothing could establish the required “menacing behaviour”. The explanation was attributed to unnamed legal sources; it was not presented as a written explanation from the Office of Public Prosecutions or as a court ruling on the law.
The report described Victorian blackmail as involving an “unwarranted” demand made with a “threat” or menace. The exact statutory wording was not independently verified in the available reporting, so this account should not be read as a definitive statement of the legal test. The key procedural point is that withdrawal ended this prosecution without a trial verdict on the blackmail allegation.
What each side said about the alleged encounter
ABC reported that prosecutor Natasa Stevic described the alleged victim as “terrified” and said he moved his family into a hotel. Defence barrister Christopher Terry said Leavitt had not been threatening or violent during the interaction and described him as “polite and reasonable.” These were opposing submissions about the alleged meeting, not findings by a court on the withdrawn charge.
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Keep the three outcomes separate
- Blackmail: Prosecutors withdrew the charge on 1 October 2026. There was no trial verdict on whether the alleged $663,000 demand occurred as charged.
- Phone PIN offence: Leavitt pleaded guilty to failing to provide police with his phone PIN and was convicted.
- Prohibited debt collection: Leavitt pleaded guilty to engaging in debt collection despite the prohibition arising from his 2023 assault conviction and was convicted.
The last two convictions resulted in a $2,000 fine, according to ABC News. The withdrawal does not, by itself, establish either guilt or innocence on the blackmail allegation.
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