Blackmail Laws

Blackmail may be described as a type of extortion. A conviction could lead not only to jail time but also to collateral consequences like challenges in getting certain jobs. Someone suspected of this crime should consult a lawyer and avoid discussing their situation with law enforcement in the meantime. This could inadvertently undermine their interests.

What Is Blackmail?

Blackmail often involves getting or demanding payment from someone in exchange for keeping quiet about something that would harm their reputation.

Elements of Blackmail

A prosecutor usually needs to prove that the defendant got or tried to get money or something else of value by threatening the reputation of another person. (Under some statutes, it also may involve a threat intended to compel the target to do or not do something.) The perpetrator might threaten to disclose a secret about the target that would change how other people view them. Or they might threaten to accuse the target of a crime.

Many criminal codes include blackmail in the definition of a more general offense, such as extortion or a theft offense. For example, Florida Statutes Section 836.05 broadly prohibits threats and extortion, including the type of reputational threat usually known as blackmail.

Examples of Blackmail

Phil asks for $10,000 from Vern, who has a wife and two young children. After initially refusing, Vern complies when Phil says that he will post photos online of Vern kissing someone else's wife unless he gives Phil the money.

Veronica buys a new car and puts her old car up for sale. Patrick, one of her neighbors, demands that Veronica give him the car for free. When she says no, he threatens to tell the landlord that she does drugs.

Offenses Related to Blackmail

Some other offenses that might be charged in situations similar to those supporting a blackmail charge include:

• Extortion: resembles blackmail but generally includes a broader range of threats, such as harming the victim or their property
• Larceny: the generic form of theft, which usually involves taking someone else’s property without their permission and with the intent to deprive them of it
• Robbery: taking someone else’s property by the use or threat of force
• Fraud: using false statements or other deception to get something of value

A prosecutor might file multiple charges if the facts support them. They might then negotiate with the defendant over trading guilty pleas to some charges for the dismissal of others.

Defenses to Blackmail

A defendant may argue that they did not make a threat. Perhaps the alleged target of the threat has a grudge against the defendant and brought a false accusation to get them in trouble. Often, little evidence other than the accusation supports a charge, since the alleged incident may have involved a conversation with no witnesses or documentation. Challenging the credibility of the accuser thus can go a long way toward defeating the charge.

In other cases, the defendant might not have intended to force the alleged victim to do anything. Suppose that Patrick in the second example above told Veronica that he would tell the landlord that she does drugs in a separate encounter from when she refused to give him her car. She might have assumed that this was implicitly meant to coerce her into giving him the car, while Patrick might have meant it as retaliation for a complaint that she made about his playing loud music.

Penalties for Blackmail

Each state imposes its own penalties for blackmail or the offense covering this type of conduct. Examples of potential periods of imprisonment include:

• Arizona (theft by extortion): 1.5-3 years (2.5 years presumptive)
• California (extortion): 2, 3, or 4 years
• Florida (threats and extortion): up to 15 years
• Kentucky (theft by extortion): up to 90 days for property worth less than $500; up to 12 months for property worth $500-$999; maximum term of 1-5 years for property worth $1,000-$9,999; maximum term of 5-10 years for property worth $10,000 or more
• Maryland (extortion by verbal threat): up to 10 years
• South Carolina (blackmail): up to 10 years
• Washington (second-degree extortion): up to 5 years

Federal law also contains a provision prohibiting blackmail. This involves a threat of disclosing a violation of a federal law. A conviction of this crime may result in imprisonment for up to one year.

Last reviewed August 2024