What Is Extortion?

Also called blackmail, in California, the crime of extortion is committed when you make someone give you something or do something that you want through threats or violence. Many situations may seem like extortion but do not rise to the level of a crime. There are also some situations that may not seem that serious, but can lead to extortion charges. Because extortion is always a felony that can result in you spending years in state prison, you need to be aware of what conduct is considered criminal.

There Must Be a Threat for Extortion

A California prosecutor seeking to convict you of extortion must prove you:

• Threatened someone else;
• Intended to make the other person consent to give you something of value or to take an official act; and,
• Got the other individual to actually give you what you wanted.

All of the above elements required to find you guilty of extortion have various additional requirements. For example, the threat you make must be:

• To cause the victim an injury through violence towards them, someone else, or the person’s property;
• To expose some information that would cause the other person harm, like their involvement in a scandal or crime; or,
• To formally accuse the other person or their family member of a crime.

The classic example is threatening to club someone’s knees with a baseball bat unless they give you money. Other possible scenarios include threatening to expose their marital affair unless they do what you say or saying you’ll accuse them of raping you unless they pay you off.

Your Extortion Must Make the Other Person Consent

Whatever you threaten, it must cause the other person to decide that giving in is a better choice than attempting to call your bluff. This means that the other person consents to your demands. For example, if you threaten to hit someone’s knees with a baseball bat unless they give you their wallet, the victim chooses to hand over their wallet.

Crucially, you do not take it out of their pocket or purse. They hand it to you. This means they consented, but only because of your extortion threat. If you were to take their wallet yourself, you might have committed a different crime.

Something Must Actually Be Exchanged

In situations where money, goods, or property is transferred, the requirement of an actual exchange is easy to prove. However, extortion is also a crime if it involves threatening someone so that they take an official act on your behalf. An official act means the person must have a governmental authority to exchange so they can avoid you carrying out the threat.

For example, you might have committed extortion if you threatened to expose a prosecutor’s mistress unless they drop a criminal charge against you. Alternatively, you can also commit extortion by obtaining a city zoning department’s signing-off on your building project after threatening to accuse them of taking a bribe.

Extortion is always a felony in California, punishable by a maximum sentence of four years in state prison and a $10,000 fine.

If you have been charged with extortion in Brea, California, you’ll need an experienced criminal defense attorney to help fight for your rights. The Chambers Law Firm has years of experience defending against a variety of criminal offenses. Contact us today by calling us at 714-760-4088 or emailing dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a free consultation with a member of our skilled legal tea.