Extortion
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"Exact" redirects here. For the exact sciences, see
Exact science.
"Extort" redirects here. For the album by KMFDM, see
XTORT.
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Extortion (also called
shakedown,
outwresting, and
exaction) is a
criminal offence of unlawfully obtaining money, property, or services from a person, entity, or institution, through
coercion. 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 which refers to a requirement of a payment of money or property to halt future violence is sufficient to commit the offense. Exaction refers not only to extortion or the unlawful demanding and obtaining of something through force,
[1] but additionally, in its formal definition, means the infliction of something such as
pain and suffering or making somebody endure something unpleasant.
[2]
Extortion is distinguished from
robbery. In armed 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
United States 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.
Blackmail, which involves extortion, is when the offender threatens to reveal information about a victim or his family members that is potentially embarrassing, socially damaging, or incriminating unless a demand for money, property, or services is met.
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.
Neither extortion nor
blackmail require a threat of a criminal act, such as violence, merely a threat used to elicit actions, money, or property from the object of the extortion. Such threats include the filing of reports (true or not) of criminal behavior to the police, revelation of damaging facts (such as pictures of the object of the extortion in a compromising position), etc.