Carrot Top's Lawyer Claims He Was Being Extorted Over Sex Before Suicide Attempt

Carrot Top's legal team is speaking out about what they're calling an attempt to extort the comedian ... just weeks before his suicide attempt.

In a filing obtained by TMZ ... the 61-year-old's lawyer says that Brian Evans threatened to enter a sexually explicit recording on a USB drive depicting the comedian into a court's legal docket ... unless he was paid $500,000 as a settlement.

In exhibits contained with the Sept. 3 filing, Evans wrote in an email to the comedian's lawyer ... "Given the existing posture of the case and the coverage already in print, I expect the press will report the motion and will use its own imagination about what the USB is... That is a foreseeable fact about third-party reporting of a public docket. It is not a threat."

Evans added ... "Path A remains available on the terms previously stated: Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) in immediately available funds, in exchange for resolution of all claims against Scott Thompson... Otherwise I will proceed with the motion for leave as the next filing."

In other emails, Evans sent online coverage of his case against the comedian to his legal team.

In response, Carrot Top's legal team wrote ... "This is not settlement communication. On its face it is a malicious threat to expose Thompson to disgrace, and to expose a secret affecting him, with intent thereby to extort money under the guise of litigation conduct."

Carrot Top’s rep tells TMZ … "A federal court recently declared Mr. Evans a ‘vexatious litigant’ and described his filings as ‘serial’ and ‘spurious.’ In dismissing one of his cases with prejudice, the court went even further, stating: ‘It appears this entire case is designed to harass Defendants.’ The court’s findings and Mr. Evans’s litigation record speak for themselves."

The rep continues ... "Mr. Thompson is currently recovering, surrounded by his family and those closest to him. His focus is on his health and recovery, and we ask that his privacy be respected at this time."

We reported earlier ... Carrot Top remains hospitalized after a suicide attempt on Friday.

We've reached out to Evans for comment ... so far, no word back.