Extortion

EXTORTION IS A CRIMINAL offense, generally described as obtaining something of value from one party by the infliction of harm, or the threat of that infliction of harm by a second party. Extortion is different from theft; in a theft, the item (a physical object) of value is usually taken without the owner's knowledge and/or permission, so no force is present.

Similarly, extortion is different from robbery; in a robbery, violence is either present or implied, not understood to be a future occurrence. Additionally, most robberies involve the taking of a physical object, not an abstract or immovable instrument, that is, a reputation, future business contracts, or occupancy of a building. Extortion often involves the payment of monies to ensure that violence will not occur, sometimes referred to as protection money.

The generally accepted public conceptualization of extortion is one of two classifications: a politician demanding payments from persons seeking business from a political body (corruption, bribery, graft), and organized-crime figures demanding money from business owners to avoid physical injury or damage (paying protection). However, extortion exists in many forms, including: individual on individual, individual on public figure/politician, individual on corporation, individual on governmental agency, politician on individual, politician on corporation, labor unions and law enforcement personnel on individual, organized-crime operation on individual, and organized-crime operation on corporation, as well as certain ethnic extortion operations.

Extortive demands made against individuals and corporations, in both domestic and overseas markets, have increased in such regularity that insurance coverage is now offered by several major insurance carriers; insuring such risks as: kidnapping/threat of kidnapping, bodily injury extortion, property extortion, product contamination, and trade-secret extortion. Some insurance carriers note their success in reducing kidnapping payments from the original demands, and usually settling for 10–25 percent of the original demand.