New York Criminal Lawyer Blog
While online and offline extortionists may try to couch their efforts to obtain money from you as something other than what it is really is – a crime, the offenses they commit are not always the same. To that end, while Extortion, aka, Blackmail, is the most common infraction, Coercion rears its ugly head as well. Chances are, when you were caught up in the moment justifying your actions, you likely had no idea which crime you committed even if you are probably committing at least one of them and potentially other crimes as well.
Though these two offenses share incredibly similar elements (I am only addressing the New York State Penal Law and not the federal criminal code), understand they are not identical and have different penalties upon conviction. To that end, Extortion is always a felony, while Coercion can be a felony or a misdemeanor too. Regardless of your crime choice de jour (or de jours, even if that is not proper grammar), a conviction for either offense will result in a debilitating criminal record. Despite this, if there is one “bright spot” for you as an alleged, or convicted, sextorter, blackmailer or coercer, in most circumstance incarceration is not mandatory if you have a clean record, though quite likely. For those with a checkered past, however, no matter how cute or crafty you believe you are, if you have a prior felony conviction in the preceding ten years and are deemed a predicate felon, a plea or conviction after trial mandates a term of prison “upstate”. Yes, that is right, you gotta’ go.
Stated differently, you can try as hard as you want to portray your money grab as a legal transaction or part of a purported lawful process, but if you are convicted, your narrative doesn’t immunize you from potential prosecution. Having prosecuted a lawyer along with his “clients” for blackmailing a then NBA All-Star through a gussied up “contract” in an effort to legitimize an illegal shakedown, I can tell you that Mike Tyson was right: everyone has a plan until they are punched in the face. Unfortunately for them, this is the exact pitfall that many fraudsters stumble into due to a combination of their arrogance, ignorance or a combination of the two. And what do they have to show for it? Regret.
Extortion Versus Coercion: Penal Law 155.30(6) Versus Penal Law 135.60, 135.61 & 135.65
Though the above title is a little misleading since the value of the property obtained or attempted to be secured via Extortion elevates the crime from a class “E” to a class “B” felony and expands the charges beyond Penal Law 155.30(6). These value-based crimes that enhance the Extortion itself are Penal Law 155.30(1), 155.35(1), 155.40(1) and 155.42(1). Before addressing each one, the best way to frame or differentiate Extortion from Coercion is as follows: Extortion uses direct or implied threats to obtain property, aka, something of value which is often money, and Coercion, born from those same threats, uses duress to coerce another party to engage or not engage in behavior he or she otherwise has a right to or not to do so. One is driven by money or property while the other seeks out certain conduct or behavior.
Extortion: Penal Law 155.05(2)(e)
According to Penal Law 155.05(2)(e), you steal property by felony Extortion, yes, steal, when, with the intent to appropriate property to yourself, including a wrongful taking, you compel or induce another person to give you that property (often money) by scaring that person into believing that if he or she does not pay you off in some way, you or another person such as a friend, associate, partner, spouse, etc., will do one of any number of things. These include: physically injury your target, damage their property, engage in criminal conduct, accuse them of criminality or cause charges or removal proceedings to commence against them, expose a secret or publicize a fact – true or not – that would subject the victim to contempt, ridicule or hate, or perform any other act that won’t materially benefit the extorter but is calculated to materially hurt the victim’s career, business, financial condition, reputation or personal relationships.
Plugging this definition into the varying degrees of Blackmail, Extortion or Sextortion, which, again, are all the same thing, if convicted, you would face up to one and one third to four years in prison for receiving property valued north of $1,000.00, two and one third to seven years in prison for securing property valued in excess of $3,000.00, five to fifteen years for obtaining property worth more than $50,000,00, and eight and one third to twenty-five years for pocketing property valued more than $1 million. Remember, if you are a predicate felon from the prior ten years, whether in New York, from another state, or even federally, your “bottom” on those particular crimes mandates prison as follows: one and a half to three years for the class “E” felony, two to four years for the class “D” felony, three to six years for the class “C” felony and four and a half to nine years for the class “B” felony exceeding $1 million. To be clear, prison isn’t an option…its required as a matter of law.
Coercion: Penal Law 135.60, 135.61 & 135.65
In lieu of repeating the shared elements between Coercion and Extortion, know that the treats and fear used to compel or induce a targeted person is the same, but what a coercer seeks is different. Instead of property, routinely money, a perpetrator of the Coercion crimes is basically trying to get his or her victim to engage in conduct that he otherwise has a legal right to abstain from or, alternatively, engage in. The law has evolved to also encompass inducing a person to disseminate or otherwise display that person’s naked or intimate images. This basic level crime is Penal Law 135.60 and is punishable by up to a year in jail. The crime jumps to a class “E” felony of Penal Law 135.61, with a sentence reflected above, if the pressured conduct involves certain sexual contact. Lastly, Penal Law 135.65 is violated when the crime involves compelling a person to commit a felony or attempt to or in fact cause a physical injury to another person or to violate their duties as a public servant. This is a class “D” felony.
Know the Law Before You Violate It
From a victim’s perspective, these crimes often involve private matters that could have direct and collateral consequences to their lives, family, and careers. If a case lands in court, prosecutors and judges are well aware of this fact and don’t look kindly upon you for behaving so callously. Because of the damage an extorter can cause, most victims try to handle these issues legally, but outside the criminal justice system. At some point, however, if the proverbial cat is out of the bag and you, the blackmailer has drawn first blood, know that law enforcement could very well be the next step to hold you accountable. There is no putting the genie back in the bottle! When your words and actions formerly wielded with such bravado are now used against you, you’re going to need top notch defense, or you’ll be ruminating with regret for days and even years to come. Whether that means finding yourself behind bars or not, the collateral consequences and all the fixins’ will be yours to own.
To learn more about Blackmail, Coercion, Extortion and Sextotion as either a victim or an accused, and to either mount the most viable and compelling defense or to protect yourself from continued harassment, abuse and threats, follow the highlighted links.
Founded by Jeremy Saland, a former Manhattan prosecutor, Saland Law represents victims and defendants in criminal matters, both in formal proceedings and matters outside the courtroom.