Extortion law makes it a crime to obtain money, property, or anything else of value from another person by using threats, force, fear, or abuse of official authority. Under the Hobbs Act, the main federal extortion statute, the offense is defined as taking property with the victim’s consent when that consent was induced by wrongful force, threats, fear, or color of official right. Penalties reach up to 20 years in federal prison, and separate federal statutes cover blackmail, interstate threats, cyber-extortion, and extortion by federal officials. States criminalize the conduct too, almost always as a felony.
How Federal Law Defines Extortion
The Hobbs Act (18 U.S.C. § 1951) gives the broadest federal definition: obtaining property from another, with that person’s consent, through the wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, fear, or under color of official right. That last phrase matters. A government employee, or someone pretending to hold official power, can commit extortion simply by leveraging that authority to extract something of value, with no threat of violence required.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1951 – Interference With Commerce by Threats or Violence
A separate statute, 18 U.S.C. § 872, targets extortion specifically by federal officers or employees. A federal worker, or someone impersonating one, who commits extortion under the pretense of office faces up to three years in prison. If the amount is $1,000 or less, the maximum drops to one year.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 872 – Extortion by Officers or Employees of the United States
One detail trips people up: the victim’s “consent” doesn’t make extortion legal. The whole point of the crime is that the victim handed something over, but only because they were coerced into doing so. Consent extracted through fear is not real consent, and the law treats it accordingly.
Types of Threats That Qualify
Extortion doesn’t require a weapon or an immediate confrontation. Federal law covers a wide range of threats, and the threat doesn’t have to be explicit. It just needs to be credible enough that a reasonable person would feel pressured to comply.
The clearest category is threats of physical harm aimed at the victim, their family, or anyone they care about. Transmitting such a threat across state lines with intent to extort carries up to 20 years in federal prison under 18 U.S.C. § 875.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 875 – Interstate Communications
Threats to damage property, destroy a business, or harm someone’s reputation also qualify. So does threatening to accuse someone of a crime, whether truthfully or not. Under 18 U.S.C. § 875(d), transmitting that kind of threat in interstate commerce with intent to extort carries up to two years.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 875 – Interstate Communications
Then there’s abuse of official authority. A building inspector who threatens to shut down a restaurant unless the owner pays, or a police officer who implies they’ll “find” violations unless cash changes hands, is committing extortion under color of official right. The Hobbs Act treats this on par with threats of violence.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1951 – Interference With Commerce by Threats or Violence
What Can Be Demanded
Money is the most common demand, but extortion covers far more than cash. The Hobbs Act uses the broad phrase “property from another,” and courts have read it expansively. An extortioner might demand real estate, vehicles, financial accounts, or business interests.
Demands can also go beyond tangible property. Forcing someone to perform work without pay, provide professional services for free, or hand over confidential business information all qualify. So does compelling someone to sign a contract, withdraw a legal complaint, vote a certain way on a corporate board, or stay silent about wrongdoing. The specific thing demanded isn’t the point. The point is that threats were used to get it.
Blackmail vs. Extortion
People use “blackmail” and “extortion” interchangeably, but the law treats blackmail as a specific subset. Blackmail involves threatening to reveal embarrassing, damaging, or secret information unless the victim pays or complies. All blackmail is extortion; not all extortion is blackmail. A threat to burn down a warehouse isn’t blackmail. A threat to release private photographs is.
Federal law addresses blackmail separately under 18 U.S.C. § 873, which makes it a crime to demand money or anything of value in exchange for not reporting someone’s violation of federal law. The penalty is up to one year in prison.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 873 – Blackmail
In practice, the more commonly charged statute for blackmail-type conduct is 18 U.S.C. § 875(d), which covers threatening to damage someone’s reputation or accuse them of a crime when the threat crosses state lines. This is where “I’ll tell your employer” or “I’ll tell your spouse” scenarios typically land in federal court, with a maximum of two years.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 875 – Interstate Communications
State laws vary. Some states treat blackmail as a separate offense; others fold it into their general extortion statutes.
Extortion vs. Bribery
Extortion and bribery both involve exchanging something valuable for favorable treatment, but they differ on one basic point: who drives the transaction, and whether force is involved.
Bribery under 18 U.S.C. § 201 is a voluntary exchange. Someone offers a public official money or another benefit to influence an official act, and the official agrees to accept. Both sides are willing, and neither is acting under duress.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 201 – Bribery of Public Officials and Witnesses
Extortion flips the dynamic. Instead of an outsider offering payment, the person in power demands it. A city official who says “pay me $10,000 or I’ll deny your building permit” isn’t accepting a bribe. They’re committing extortion. The victim isn’t a willing participant; they’re paying under threat. That’s the “under color of official right” language in the Hobbs Act, and it’s where the two offenses most often get confused.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1951 – Interference With Commerce by Threats or Violence
Bribery penalties are themselves steep, reaching up to 15 years in prison. The distinction still matters for victims. In a bribery case, both the payer and the recipient can face charges. In an extortion case, the victim who paid under duress is not the criminal.
Cyber-Extortion and Ransomware
Digital extortion is one of the fastest-growing categories. Ransomware attacks, where someone locks your files and demands payment to release them, are prosecuted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (18 U.S.C. § 1030). Section 1030(a)(7) specifically criminalizes transmitting a threat to damage a protected computer, a threat to steal or expose data from one, or a demand for money connected to computer damage already caused.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1030 – Fraud and Related Activity in Connection With Computers
A “protected computer” under the CFAA includes essentially any computer connected to the internet, since the law covers machines used in or affecting interstate commerce or communication. That broad definition gives federal prosecutors jurisdiction over ransomware attacks against businesses, hospitals, local governments, and individuals.
A first offense under Section 1030(a)(7) carries up to five years in federal prison. A second offense doubles that to ten.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1030 – Fraud and Related Activity in Connection With Computers
Prosecutors aren’t limited to the CFAA. A ransomware attack or online sextortion scheme can also be charged under the Hobbs Act when it affects interstate commerce, under 18 U.S.C. § 875 when threats cross state lines, or under wire fraud statutes. Sextortion involving minors can trigger child exploitation charges under 18 U.S.C. § 2251, which carry a mandatory minimum of 15 years.
Federal Penalties at a Glance
Federal extortion sentences vary dramatically depending on which statute applies and how the conduct played out:
- Hobbs Act (18 U.S.C. § 1951): up to 20 years for extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce. The heaviest general extortion charge, applied to everything from organized crime shakedowns to corrupt public officials.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1951 – Interference With Commerce by Threats or Violence
- Threats of physical harm (18 U.S.C. § 875(b)): up to 20 years for transmitting a kidnapping or physical injury threat across state lines with intent to extort.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 875 – Interstate Communications
- Threats to reputation or property (18 U.S.C. § 875(d)): up to 2 years for threatening reputation damage, property damage, or a criminal accusation with intent to extort.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 875 – Interstate Communications
- Federal employee extortion (18 U.S.C. § 872): up to 3 years, or 1 year if the amount is $1,000 or less.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 872 – Extortion by Officers or Employees of the United States
- Blackmail (18 U.S.C. § 873): up to 1 year for demanding payment in exchange for not reporting a federal crime.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 873 – Blackmail
- Cyber-extortion (18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(7)): up to 5 years for a first offense, up to 10 years for a subsequent offense.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1030 – Fraud and Related Activity in Connection With Computers
Judges can also impose fines alongside prison time under all of these statutes.
State-Level Penalties
Every state criminalizes extortion, though the statutes and penalty structures vary widely. It’s almost universally a felony, with prison terms ranging from roughly 18 months in states with lower sentencing to 15 or even 20 years in the most severe. A few states don’t have a standalone extortion statute and instead charge the conduct as a form of theft, meaning penalties scale with the value of what was taken.
Because the range is so wide, the sentence someone faces depends entirely on jurisdiction, the nature of the threats, and the value of what was demanded. The same conduct can produce a sentence several times longer in one state than in another.
Civil Remedies for Victims
Extortion isn’t just a criminal matter. Victims can also sue. The most powerful federal tool is a civil RICO claim under 18 U.S.C. § 1964(c). If extortion was part of a pattern of racketeering activity, the victim can recover three times their actual damages, plus reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1964 – Civil Remedies
Civil RICO requires more than a single act. The plaintiff has to show a “pattern” of racketeering, which generally means at least two related acts within a ten-year period. That makes RICO best suited to ongoing schemes rather than a single shakedown. Many states also allow civil extortion claims under state tort law, and some provide their own statutory treble-damage remedies.
Victims don’t have to wait for a criminal conviction to file a civil suit. The two processes run independently, and a civil case uses a lower burden of proof.
If You’re Being Extorted
If someone is threatening you and demanding money, property, or anything else of value, the most important step is to not comply and not confront the extortioner directly. Paying rarely ends the demands. It usually escalates them, because the extortioner now knows the tactic works.
Preserve every piece of evidence: text messages, emails, voicemails, social media messages, letters, and records of any payments already made. Don’t delete anything, even if the content is embarrassing. Report the extortion to local law enforcement. If the threats crossed state lines or involve the internet, report them to the FBI through your nearest field office or through the Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov, which handles cyber-enabled fraud and extortion complaints.
Timing matters. Extortion cases are far easier to investigate and prosecute when reported early, before evidence disappears and before the extortioner has time to cover their tracks.