United States, U. However, in some states, when a private person commits extortion it will come under the crime of blackmail. Blackmail is mostly used as a term that defines extortion.
The crime of extortion includes an act involving moral turpitude or gross immorality. State ex rel. Mays v. Mason, 29 Ore. Under some statutes, a corporation can also be considered liable for extortion. Extortion can include threats of physical harm, criminal prosecution, or public exposure if the amount or valuable demanded by a person is not transferred.
It can become a federal violation of the law if perpetrated across a computer system, phone, by mail, or in using any instrument of interstate commerce.
Extortion is a federal offense when it interferes with interstate commerce. It is punishable by a fine, imprisonment, or both. All extortion statutes require that a threat must be made to the person or property of the victim. There should be an intention to take money from another person.
However, when an officer extracts money forcefully, this will amount to extortion. There is no need to prove that the public officer had intention to extract money from the person. Extortion is closely related to robbery and false pretenses.
This is because all these crimes come under the common crime of theft. Robbery differs from extortion. In robbery, property is taken against the will and without the consent of the victim. In extortion, the victim unwillingly consents to surrender money or property. Smith v. State, 71 Fla. Note that extortion differs from other conversion crimes in that it usually does not include immediate physical threat of harm, such as a robbery. The threat for robbery is limited to immediate physical harm to the victim or his or her home.
Extortion encompasses a greater variety of threats. Extortion can be committed with or without the use of force and with or without the use of a weapon. A major difference between extortion and robbery is that extortion always involves a written or verbal threat whereas robbery can occur without any verbal or written threat.
Concerning the difference between false pretenses or fraud, and extortion, in fraud the property is obtained by misrepresentations as opposed to a threat. The punishment for extortion is a fine, imprisonment, or both. United States v. Xiao Qin Zhou, F. However, when the offense is committed by a public officer, the penalty can include forfeiture of office. In some states, including California, an extortion victim can bring a civil action and recover pecuniary and punitive damages from the accused.
In blackmail, a threat may or may not consist of physical injury to a threatened person or to someone loved by that person. In some cases, the threat would be to expose an illegal act previously committed by the victim if the victim fails to submit to a demand. Punishment for blackmail can include a fine, imprisonment, or both.
Generally, blackmail is synonymous with extortion. Some states distinguish blackmail from extortion by demanding that blackmail must be in writing in order to make it punishable.
The terms extortion and blackmail are sometimes said to involve different behaviors. Often, extortion refers to a threat made by a public official, while blackmail refers to a threat to collect money illegally.
A threat involves an act of coercion. It is an expression of an intention to inflict an evil or injury on another person. Robinson v. Bradley, F. The threat must be to act in such a way that the victim will reasonably fear a negative response. A threat is also defined as a menace that keeps the mind of a person upon whom a threat operates unsettled. Generally, a threat is one of the elements of extortion or blackmail.
In order to punish an offense of extortion, the prosecution must show that the motive of the threat was to obtain money, property, or some other thing of value.
But under some statutes, the threat is considered as an independent offense. Thus a threat without any motive may also punishable in some jurisdictions.
Hooks, U. Most essential is the use of a threat in order to obtain money or anything of value which constitutes the crime of extortion. Intent is also regarded as an element of extortion. Extortion is a specific intent crime requiring a state of mind to commit the crime. Generally, a demand or a request for a specific sum of money is not considered a prerequisite to a conviction of extortion. People v.
Hesslink, Cal. It was observed in People v. Fort, Mich. It is to be noted that a threat was not considered to be necessary for the commission of extortion in common law. However, in many jurisdictions, the crime of extortion has been expanded to include the obtaining of money, property, or anything of value by any person, by means of a threat.
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Market Your Law Firm. Lawyer Directory. Call us at 1 Extortion: Laws, Penalties, and Sentencing. Attempting to obtain money or other valuables by means of a threat is extortion. Crime of Extortion The crime of extortion traditionally covered only actions by public or government officials, though today the crime applies to actions by private citizens as well. Extortion is based upon some type of threat.
The person making the threat must state an intention to commit an injury or harmful action against the victim. For example, under California's law, a person can commit extortion by threatening to injure the victim or another person, accuse the victim of a crime or of some other disgraceful conduct, expose a secret, or report a person to immigration. A person can make the threat verbally, in writing, or even through non-verbal gestures or other communications.
In some states, merely making a threat is enough to qualify as a crime. A person commits extortion when making a threat with the specific intention of forcing someone else to provide money, property, or something of value. However, intent is not based on the defendant's statements alone, but rather upon the circumstances and facts surrounding the threat.
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