East Bay Attorney Accuses Marin Prosecutors Of Pursuing ‘Bogus’ Bribery Case: Report

MARIN COUNTY, CA — An East Bay attorney has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Marin County prosecutors of fabricating evidence and repeatedly pursuing a bribery case against him that judges ultimately tossed for lack of evidence, according to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, says the Marin County District Attorney’s Office tried three times between 2023 and 2025 to prosecute then-defense attorney Tyler Smith over claims that he bribed a witness not to testify. Judges dismissed each case for lack of evidence, the Chronicle reported.

Smith, who joined the state bar in 2013, works for Heisler Rosenfeld LLP in Walnut Creek.

Smith’s lawsuit accuses Chief Deputy District Attorney Dori Ahana, Deputy District Attorney Roopa Khrisna and investigator Andre Longtin-Horton of malicious prosecution and fabricating evidence in retaliation for the collapse of a misdemeanor vandalism case against one of Smith’s clients.

“These people, they're supposed to be ministers of justice,” said Izaak Schwaiger, Smith’s attorney, in an interview with the Chronicle. “And here they are, just absolutely abusing their power to punish people and to deter lawyers from doing their jobs because they don't want to lose.”

The Marin County District Attorney’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.

The dispute stems from a 2023 case involving a man accused of smashing his girlfriend’s laptop after discovering she had an OnlyFans account.

While representing the man, Smith learned the woman did not want to participate in the prosecution and instead wanted reimbursement for the laptop, according to the lawsuit.

Smith approached prosecutors about resolving the case through a civil compromise, which can allow certain lower-level property cases to be dismissed when a victim is reimbursed. Prosecutors rejected that option because they believed the provision could not be used in the case due to the relationship between the defendant and the woman, according to the Chronicle.

Smith disagreed, arguing that his client had not been charged with domestic violence.

The woman later moved to Texas and told Smith she did not want to pursue the case, according to the lawsuit. She agreed to accept $3,000 for her laptop and relocation expenses and signed a civil compromise stating that she would participate in the prosecution only if subpoenaed, the lawsuit states.

Those circumstances eventually led to the bribery accusations against Smith and the prosecutions that are now at the center of his federal lawsuit, according to the Chronicle.

The claims in Smith’s lawsuit have not been proven in court.

Read the full story at the San Francisco Chronicle.