Have you been accused of extortion? If you have been accused of extortion and are needing representation or are curious as to what exactly extortion is, you have come to the right place. I, Zachary Holbrook, and my firm can prepare a vigorous defense against claims of extortion and other white collar crimes. Continue reading to learn more about extortion and how a case would be prepared against claims of extortion.

What Is Extortion?

Extortion includes using coercion, intimidation and threats to illegally acquire property from somebody else. Extortion used to be a crime reserved only for government officials, but these days individual citizens or businesses can be charged criminally for extortion. There are several types of threats that could be legally charged as extortion. Blackmail is a form of extortion. A threat to destroy property or to physically injure a person or their family would be an example. Another example of extortion would be to threaten to expose a secret that would harm a person’s life. Extortion could include threatening to do any harm to somebody in order to get them to do something for you.

Parts Of Extortion

In order for a claim to be legally considered extortion, there are certain requirements that must be fulfilled. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, there must be some sort of threat made. The threat could be made verbally or written out; it must be made through some form of communication. 

The second component to extortion is intent. The person who made the threat must be intending to follow through with the threat that they made. However, even if the defendant did not intend to follow through with a threat, if the circumstances and evidence around the case points to the defendant using extortion, they can still be charged. My goal as your attorney would be to prove that there was not a criminal statement made or that there was no intent involved with the statement.

Another part of extortion is that the accused must have been trying to obtain property. The property could include a business license, money, physical assets, or some form of agreement. There are also cases of sexual extortion. The “property” that the accused was supposedly trying to obtain simply must be something that has value. Also, the accused does not have to have obtained the property for the crime to be considered extortion. There may be other crimes charged if the property was taken.

Lastly, a threat must be able to cause trepidation to the victim in order for it to be considered extortion. This could include fear for one’s life, property, social standing, family’s safety, business’s well-being, or some other fear. The victim did not necessarily have to experience fear in order for the crime to be considered extortion, the prosecutor will only need to prove that the accused intended to inspire fear in order to obtain property.

Retribution For Extortion

Extortion is considered to be a felony in the United States. A felony is an extremely serious crime and is sentenced as such. There are large penalties of extortion including fines, probation and incarceration. Fines are different for each case but can be upwards of $10,000 with restitution that must be paid especially if the victim’s property was taken. Extortion prison sentences can also be very serious. Probation can also be a punishment of extortion, specifically when the property of the plaintiff was not taken or if the extortion was attempted and failed.

Have You Been Charged With Extortion?

If you have recently been charged with extortion and are in need of help building a defense, I, Zachary Holbrook, am here for you. I am an experienced criminal defense attorney out of Ogden, Utah and want to help you clear your name. Contact me today for further questions or for a consultation.