In Minnesota, false accusations are prosecuted under Minn. Stat. § 609.505, which makes knowingly giving false information about another person’s conduct to a law enforcement officer a misdemeanor, with higher penalties for repeat offenders and for lies about police misconduct. If you were the one falsely accused, Minnesota law gives you two paths to push back: petition the court to seal the record through expungement, and sue the accuser for defamation or malicious prosecution.
What Counts as a False Accusation Under Minnesota Law
Section 609.505 does not punish every inaccurate report. The statute requires two things at once: the person knew the information was false, and the person intended the officer to act on it.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 609.505 – Falsely Reporting Crime A mistaken report, even one that turns out to be completely wrong, is not a crime if the person genuinely believed it. Prosecutors have to prove both the knowledge and the intent beyond a reasonable doubt.
That is where most of these cases are decided. Text messages, social media posts, prior inconsistent statements, witness accounts, and physical evidence that contradicts the report are the kinds of proof that show the accuser knew they were lying when they called police.
Criminal Penalties for Filing a False Report
First Offense
A first conviction under § 609.505 is a misdemeanor. In Minnesota, that means up to 90 days in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.2Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 609.02 – Definitions Judges work within those limits and may order probation, community service, or other conditions in place of jail, especially when no serious harm resulted.
Second or Later Offense
A second or subsequent conviction is a gross misdemeanor,1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 609.505 – Falsely Reporting Crime punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $3,000.
False Reports of Police Misconduct
Subdivision 2 of the statute addresses false reports about police officers. A false report that does not allege a crime by the officer is a misdemeanor; a false report that does allege a crime is a gross misdemeanor.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 609.505 – Falsely Reporting Crime On top of the standard penalties, the court must order the person to reimburse the cost of investigating the false allegation, capped at $3,000, unless the judge specifically finds restitution inappropriate.
Section 609.505 itself contains no felony penalties; the ceiling under this statute is a gross misdemeanor. Related conduct can be charged more seriously under other laws, including Minnesota perjury statutes for false statements made under oath, and federal perjury law (18 U.S.C. § 1621) if the false statement was made in a federal proceeding or to federal investigators, where the exposure runs up to five years in prison.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1621 – Perjury Generally
What a False Accusation Costs the Person Accused
Most of the damage lands before any verdict. An arrest or filed charge creates a public record that employers, landlords, and licensing boards can see. The accused may be placed on leave, fired, or suspended from professional practice while the case moves. Some licensing boards require disclosure of charges, not just convictions, so the accusation alone can threaten a career.
Legal fees stack fast. Criminal defense attorneys in Minnesota typically charge somewhere between $150 and over $500 an hour depending on experience and the complexity of the case. A case that stretches across months adds costs for investigation, depositions, expert witnesses, and court appearances, often while the accused is losing income.
The personal fallout is harder to price. Relationships strain. Friends and family may pull back. The record of the accusation can turn up in background checks and online searches for years after an acquittal or dismissal.
Clearing Your Record Through Expungement
If you were falsely accused and the case has resolved, Minnesota expungement is the main tool for limiting long-term damage. Expungement seals court records from public view.4Minnesota Judicial Branch. Criminal Expungement Frequently Asked Questions The state offers automatic expungement for certain qualifying outcomes and a petition process for everything else.
Cases resolved in your favor, meaning dismissals, acquittals, or charges never filed, may qualify for automatic expungement without a filing. Cases that do not qualify automatically require a petition: pulling together your full criminal history, filling out the required forms, and appearing before a judge to argue why expungement is warranted.4Minnesota Judicial Branch. Criminal Expungement Frequently Asked Questions For cases not resolved in your favor, the filing fee runs about $325 per case, with waivers available for those who cannot pay.
Sealing is not erasure. Certain government agencies and law enforcement can still reach sealed records in limited situations. The process also takes time, and the record stays public until the order issues, so moving on expungement promptly after a favorable outcome matters.
Suing the Accuser: Defamation and Malicious Prosecution
Criminal penalties go to the state. If you want compensation for what the accusation cost you, that comes through a civil suit. Two claims fit most false-accusation scenarios.
Defamation
Defamation targets the false statement itself. You generally need to show the accuser made a false statement of fact about you, communicated it to a third party, and that the statement caused you real harm. Public figures must prove the accuser knew the statement was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. Private individuals usually only need to show carelessness about truth.
Damages can cover lost income, reputational harm, and emotional distress. Amounts vary widely with the severity of the accusations and how widely they spread.
Malicious Prosecution
Malicious prosecution reaches further and targets the misuse of the legal process. To win, you have to show that criminal proceedings were initiated against you, that they ended in your favor, that the accuser lacked probable cause, and that the accuser acted with malice or an improper purpose. Courts set a high bar here because they want to protect good-faith reporting of suspected crimes. Where the evidence clearly shows a knowing false report was used to weaponize the system, courts do award damages.
Civil filing fees vary by county and court level, and defamation and malicious prosecution cases can be expensive to pursue, so most attorneys will size up the evidence and likely recovery before taking the case.
Defenses If You Are Charged With False Reporting
If you are the one facing a § 609.505 charge, the defense usually attacks the two elements the state has to prove.
- Good-faith belief. If you actually believed what you reported, the knowledge element fails, no matter how wrong the report turned out to be.
- No intent to mislead. The statute requires that you intended the officer to act on the information. Statements made casually, hypothetically, or outside the context of prompting police action may not meet that bar.
- Recantation and cooperation. Correcting the record promptly, before serious harm sets in, does not automatically clear you, but it can shift charging decisions and sentencing.
- Insufficient evidence. The state carries the burden beyond a reasonable doubt. Thin or purely circumstantial proof of knowledge or intent may not survive.
Contemporaneous evidence often decides these cases. Emails, texts, journal entries, and witness statements from the time of the report that show what the accused reporter actually believed can be the difference between conviction and acquittal.