Blackmail and extortion12/21/2023 ![]() The statute defines “extortion” as “ obtaining of property from another, with his consent, induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear, or under color of official right.” The statute imposes significant penalties, including a term of imprisonment of up to 20 years per extortionate act.Ī key element of the Hobbs Act is that it requires, as an element of the offence, some activity that in one way or another “ obstructs, delays, or affects commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce.” The obstruction or effect on commerce need not be significant. However, over time, the use of the statute has evolved significantly and today it is commonly utilized by federal prosecutors in cases that have little or nothing to do with organized crime. Originally, it was intended as a tool to combat organized crime. This criminal statute, entitled “Interference with commerce by threats or violence,” is also commonly referred to as the “Hobbs Act” because it was introduced into law in 1946 by United States Congressman Sam Hobbs of Alabama. The main criminal statute under which most federal extortion cases are prosecuted is 18 U.S.C. In the federal system, the crime of “extortion” requires the government to prove some act or practice of obtaining something of value or compelling some action by illegal means, as by force or coercion. Extortion, as discussed below, is a much broader crime and can apply to a broader array of conduct. The main point to understand about the federal blackmail statute is that the “crime” is the demand for something of value in exchange for silence about some type of federal offense. In the absence of this, there can be no crime. The central aspect of federal blackmail is that there must be the threat of disclosing or not disclosing some underlying violation of federal law. On the other hand, an employee of a construction company that is aware his company is violating federal environmental laws by dumping materials into a river can be guilty of blackmail if he threatens the company by demanding money in exchange for not disclosing the environmental violations. So, for example, one person threatening another person with disclosure of an extramarital affair would not constitute federal blackmail (although it may qualify as a state crime). Threats to reveal embarrassing, salacious or otherwise lurid (but non-criminal) conduct will not, by themselves, trigger a violation of the federal blackmail statute. The key, and limiting, element of this crime is that it only applies to threats involving the disclosure or non-disclosure of violations of federal law. (3) The defendant had knowledge relating to illegal activity and offered to withhold it. ![]() (2) That defendant acted under the threat of informing or as consideration for not informing against a violation of any law of the United States, and (1) The defendant demanded money or a thing of value from the victim,
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