Extortion encompasses a greater variety of threats. The threat for robbery is limited to immediate physical harm to the victim or his or her home. Note that extortion differs from other conversion crimes in that it usually does not include immediate physical threat of harm, such as a robbery. In extortion, the victim unwillingly consents to surrender money or property. In robbery, property is taken against the will and without the consent of the victim. This is because all these crimes come under the common crime of theft. But if an officer takes a fee not authorized by law, under the belief that s/he is by law entitled to it, and without any corrupt intent in the matter, s/he is not guilty of extortion.Įxtortion is closely related to robbery and false pretenses. There is no need to prove that the public officer had intention to extract money from the person. However, when an officer extracts money forcefully, this will amount to extortion. When a person mistakenly believes that some other person owes him/her money and asks for payment, such acts will not amount to the offense of extortion. In most statutes, the intention is expressed in terms such as ‘willfully’ or ‘purposefully’. There should be an intention to take money from another person. A threat to harm a person in his/her career or reputation is also extortion. It is punishable by a fine, imprisonment, or both.Īll extortion statutes require that a threat must be made to the person or property of the victim. Extortion is a federal offense when it interferes with interstate commerce. 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.
Under some statutes, a corporation can also be considered liable for extortion.Įxtortion can include threats of physical harm, criminal prosecution, or public exposure if the amount or valuable demanded by a person is not transferred. The crime of extortion includes an act involving moral turpitude or gross immorality. Blackmail is mostly used as a term that defines extortion. However, in some states, when a private person commits extortion it will come under the crime of blackmail. In some states, extortion is not limited to acts done by public officers, but includes actions of private individuals. In the United States, the crime of extortion is usually statutorily defined. This was because both the crimes were considered to be done by public officers only. The unlawful exaction of money through intimidation was a complement of bribery in the early ages. When an officer falsely claims authority to take that which the officer is not lawfully entitled to, such act is known as acting under color of office. To constitute the offense of extortion, the public officer should use a threat under the guise of exercising public duties. Traditionally, the valuables or money are extracted by using force or threat. When a public officer takes money or other valuables from an individual that is not due to the officer, such act will not amount to robbery but extortion. In common law, extortion is committed by a public officer.
RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ) is the federal law which includes sanctions for the crime of extortion but goes much further than that aspect in seeking to protect interstate commerce, as discussed below. Another typical threat is that a member of the family will be assaulted unless money is paid. Usually, it is threat of violence or reporting a matter to a public agency or the media that can create allegations of extortion.Īs with many criminal offenses, the victim may have a private cause of action against the perpetrator.Ī typical extortion threat is that one will report an alleged crime to the police unless the person pays a sum of money. It is not all threats-for example, threatening to file suit unless someone pays you money owed is not extortion. Instead, far more subtle actions can lead to allegations that one has committed extortion.Įxtortion is a criminal offense that occurs when a person unlawfully obtains money, property, or services from another person or entity by means of particular types of threats. The image of the sleazy blackmailer demanding money or threatening to publicize an old scandal is seldom the act that leads to litigation involving extortion. Extortion is both a tort and a crime and is perhaps far more common than most of us think.
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