Extortion is a criminal offense which involves a defendant obtaining goods, services or money by the use of direct threats or threatening behavior.
Examples of threats for extortion purposes may include:
Crimes of extortion generally are common in nature as they all attempt to illegally gain money, property, or services by means of intimidation, threats, bribes, or character vilification. Other crimes which may sometimes be associated with extortion may include bribery, blackmail, and in cases which are of a physical nature, assault and / or battery.
While bribery and blackmail are completely different crimes in nature, they can both be contributing elements of in an act of extortion.
Extortion using Bribery involves giving money or something of value to influence the conduct of a another who occupies a position of trust or authority. Concurrently, the person accepting a bribe has also committed a crime.
Extortion using Blackmail involves threatening another person's reputation or organization by means of potential disclosure of harmful or sensitive information that could be damaging if released or made public. It does not matter if the information used in blackmail is true or false.
The crime of extortion should not be confused with the crimes of robbery, lobbying, or corruption:
When charged with an extortion crime it is important to be made fully aware of your legal rights, defense strategies, and to have aggressive, detailed, and dedicated criminal defense legal representation in your corner. Hiring an experienced extortion defense attorney may provide you the best opportunity to achieve your desired outcome, or a fair and reasonable resolution.
CRAIG A. SONNER
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