Dictionary:

extortion

  (ĭk-stôr'shən)

1. The act or an instance of extorting.
2. Illegal use of one's official position or powers to obtain property, funds, or patronage.
3. An excessive or exorbitant charge.
4. Something extorted.

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The obtaining of property from another induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear, or under color of official right.

Under the common law, extortion is a misdemeanor consisting of an unlawful taking of money by a government officer. It is an oppressive misuse of the power with which the law clothes a public officer.

Most jurisdictions have statutes governing extortion that broaden the common-law definition. Under such statutes, any person who takes money or property from another by means of illegal compulsion may be guilty of the offense. When used in this sense, extortion is synonymous with blackmail, which is extortion by a private person. In addition, under some statutes a corporation may be liable for extortion.

Elements of Offense

Virtually all extortion statutes require that a threat must be made to the person or property of the victim. Threats to harm the victim's friends or relatives may also be included. It is not necessary for a threat to involve physical injury. It may be sufficient to threaten to accuse another person of a crime or to expose a secret that would result in public embarrassment or ridicule. The threat does not have to relate to an unlawful act. Extortion may be carried out by a threat to tell the victim's spouse that the victim is having an illicit sexual affair with another.

Other types of threats sufficient to constitute extortion include those to harm the victim's business and those to either testify against the victim or withhold testimony necessary to his or her defense or claim in an administrative proceeding or a lawsuit. Many statutes also provide that any threat to harm another person in his or her career or reputation is extortion.

Under the common law and many statutes, an intent to take money or property to which one is not lawfully entitled must exist at the time of the threat in order to establish extortion. Statutes may contain words such as "willful" or "purposeful" in order to indicate the intent element. When this is so, someone who mistakenly believes he or she is entitled to the money or property cannot be guilty of extortion. Some statutes, however, provide that any unauthorized taking of money by an officer constitutes extortion. Under these statutes, a person may be held strictly liable for the act, and an intent need not be proven to establish the crime.

Statutes governing extortion by private persons vary in content. Many hold that a threat accompanied by an intent to acquire the victim's property is sufficient to establish the crime; others require that the property must actually be acquired as a result of the threat. Extortion by officials is treated similarly. Some statutes hold that the crime occurs when there is a meeting of the minds between the officer and the party from whom the money is exacted.

Extortion by Public Officers

The essence of extortion by a public officer is the oppressive use of official position to obtain a fee. The officer falsely claims authority to take that to which he or she is not lawfully entitled. This is known as acting under color of office. For example, a highway department officer who collects money from a tax delinquent automobile owner in excess of the authorized amount on the pretense of collecting a fine is extorting money under color of office. The victim, although consenting to payment, is not doing so voluntarily but is yielding to official authority.

There are four basic ways in which a public officer commits extortion. The officer might demand a fee not allowed by law and accept it under the guise of performing an official duty. He or she might take a fee greater than that allowed by law. In this case the victim must at least believe that he or she is under an obligation to pay some amount. A third method is for the officer to receive a fee before it is due. The crime is committed regardless of whether the sum taken is likely to become due in the future. It is not criminal, however, for an officer to collect a fee before it is due if the person paying so requests. Finally, extortion may be committed by the officer's taking a fee for services that are not performed. The service refrained from must be one within the official capacity of the officer in order to constitute extortion.

Other Crimes Distinguished

As a crime of theft, extortion is closely related to robbery and false pretenses.

Robbery differs from extortion in that the property is taken against the will and without the consent of the victim, unlike extortion, where the victim consents, although unwillingly, to surrender money or property. Another distinguishing factor is that the nature of the threat for robbery is limited to immediate physical harm to the victim or his or her home. Extortion, on the other hand, encompasses a greater variety of threats.

False pretenses is another crime similar to extortion. The main difference is that for false pretenses the property is obtained by a lie as opposed to a threat.

Defenses

A person who acts under a claim of right (an honest belief that he or she has a right to the money or property taken) may allege this factor as an affirmative defense to an extortion charge. What constitutes a valid claim of right defense may vary from one jurisdiction to another. For example, M, a department store manager, accuses C, a customer, of stealing certain merchandise. M threatens to have C arrested for larceny unless C compensates M for the full value of the item. In some jurisdictions it is only necessary for M to prove that he or she had an honest belief that C took the merchandise in order for M to avoid an extortion conviction. Other jurisdictions apply a stricter test, under which M's belief must be based upon circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to believe that C took the item. Another, more stringent, test requires that C in fact owe the money to M. Finally, some states entirely reject the claim of right defense on the theory that M's threat is an improper means of collecting a debt.

Punishment

Extortion is generally punished by a fine or imprisonment, or both. Where the offense is committed by a public officer, the penalty may include forfeiture of office. Under some statutes, the victim of an extortion may bring a civil action and recover pecuniary damages.

Federal Offenses

Extortion is also a federal offense when it interferes with interstate commerce. It is punishable by a fine, imprisonment, or both.

Another federal statute makes it a crime to engage in extortionate credit transactions.

Crimes
Classes of crime
Infraction  · Misdemeanor  · Felony
Summary  · Indictable  · Hybrid
Against the person
Assault  · Battery
Extortion  · Harassment
Kidnapping  · Identity theft
(Corporate) Manslaughter
Murder  · Rape
Robbery
Against property
Arson  · Blackmail
Burglary  · Deception
Embezzlement  · False pretenses
Fraud  · Handling
Larceny  · Theft
Vandalism
Against the public order
Drug possession
Against the state
Tax evasion
Espionage  · Treason
Against justice
Bribery  · Misprision of felony
Obstruction  · Perjury
Malfeasance in office
Inchoate offenses
Accessory  · Attempt
Conspiracy  · Incitement
Solicitation  · Common purpose
Note: Crimes vary by jurisdiction. Not all are listed here.

Extortion or outwresting is a criminal offense, which occurs when a person either obtains money, property or services from another through coercion or intimidation or threatens one with physical or reputational harm unless they are paid money or property. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime groups. The actual obtainment of money or property is not required to commit the offense. Making a threat of violence or a lawsuit which refers to a requirement of a payment of money or property to halt future violence or lawsuit is sufficient to commit the offense. The four simple words "pay up or else" are sufficient to constitute the crime of extortion.^{[citation needed]} An extortionate threat made to another in jest is still extortion.^{[citation needed]}

In the United States, extortion may also be committed as a federal crime across a computer system, phone, by mail or in using any instrument of "interstate commerce". Extortion requires that the individual sent the message "willingly" and "knowingly" as elements of the crime. The message only has to be sent (but does not have to reach the intended recipient) to commit the crime of extortion.

Extortion is distinguished from blackmail. In blackmail, the blackmailer threatens to do something which would be legal or normally allowed.

Extortion is distinguished from robbery. In "strong arm" robbery, the offender takes goods from the victim with use of immediate force. In "robbery" goods are taken or an attempt is made to take the goods against the will of another—with or without force. A bank robbery or extortion of a bank can be committed by a letter handed by the criminal to the teller. In extortion, the victim is threatened to hand over goods, or else damage to their reputation or other harm or violence against them may occur. Under federal law extortion can be committed with or without the use of force and with or without the use of a weapon. A key difference is that extortion always involves a written or verbal threat whereas robbery can occur without any verbal or written threat (refer to U.S.C. 875 and U.S.C. 876).

The term extortion is often used metaphorically to refer to usury or to price-gouging, though neither is legally considered extortion. It is also often used loosely to refer to everyday situations where one person feels indebted against their will, to another, in order to receive an essential service or avoid legal consequences. For example, certain lawsuits, fees for services such as banking, automobile insurance, gasoline prices, and even taxation, have all been labeled "extortion" by people with various social or political beliefs.

Extortion currently carries up to a maximum prison sentence of 20 years in most states and under Federal law.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Badger game
• Clip joint
• Coercion
• Cryptovirology: The use of public key cryptography to carry out cryptoviral extortion.
• Danegeld
• Lion kidnapping: the taking of an innocent hostage to make a loved one or associate of the victim do something, e.g. a child is taken hostage to force the shopkeeper to open the safe; the term originates from the usually long preceding observation, like a lion does on the prowl.
• Loan sharking
• Nuclear blackmail
• Tallage
• FBI Files on Elvis Presley
• RIAA

External links

• Legaltree, a Canadian legal portal, contains an article describing the elements of the offence of extortion under Canadian criminal law.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - pengeafpresning, fremtvingelse

Nederlands (Dutch)
afzetterij, afpersing

Français (French)
n. - (gén, Jur) extorsion, (fig) vol (manifeste)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Erpressung

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (εκβιαστική) απόσπαση (χρημάτων κ.λπ.), εκβιασμός, καταλήστευση

Italiano (Italian)
estorsione

Português (Portuguese)
n. - extorsão (f)

Русский (Russian)
вымогательство, принуждение, грабительские цены

Español (Spanish)
n. - exacción, concusión, extorsión, chantaje

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - utpressning, framtvingande

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
勒索, 强取, 敲诈

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 勒索, 強取, 敲詐

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 강요, 부당한 재물 취득, 부당한 가격 청구

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 強要, 強奪

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) انتزاع, اغتصاب, ابتزاز‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮סחיטה‬

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