Greenbelt, Md. ? John Allen Muhammad’s lawyer derided the government’s extortion charges against the sniper suspect Tuesday, accusing prosecutors of overreaching in order to make a federal case out of the murder spree.

The lawyer’s claims came as a federal judge ordered Muhammad held without bail.

Federal prosecutors brought charges against Muhammad last week under weapons and extortion law in the October sniper attacks that killed 10 people in the Washington, D.C., area. He could get the death penalty.

In court, federal public defender James Wyda accused prosecutors of trying to “shoehorn this case into federal courts” in using the extortion law. He said the government is trying to prove that “these seemingly random attacks were all motivated by a crackpot scheme to collect $10 million.”

Wyda noted that authorities did not even receive a note demanding the money until Oct. 19, well into the shooting spree.

“This is no longer a murder case; this is an extortion case,” he said outside court. “They can’t prove extortion. They can’t meet their burden of proof in making this a federal case.”

Muhammad and John Lee Malvo, 17, have been accused of shooting 17 people, killing 12 and wounding five in Alabama, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Wyda said authorities have not asked his client for a handwriting sample to attempt to link him to the note.

“The government’s case has significant problems,” Wyda said. “There’s no direct evidence that Mr. Muhammad was at the scene of any of these crimes.”

Police nationwide continue to review old shootings to see if there are any links to the sniper suspects. Authorities in Tucson, Ariz., said Tuesday they’re probing the fatal shooting of a golfer in March, while Prince George’s County police said ballistics tests were being done on evidence from two September shootings.