{"id":372280,"date":"2018-08-27T12:17:45","date_gmt":"2018-08-27T17:17:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/state\/dc-law\/district-of-columbia-extortion-laws.html"},"modified":"2018-08-29T09:57:45","modified_gmt":"2018-08-29T14:57:45","slug":"district-of-columbia-extortion-laws","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/state\/dc-law\/district-of-columbia-extortion-laws.html","title":{"rendered":"District of Columbia Extortion Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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District of Columbia Extortion Laws<\/h1>\n
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Created by FindLaw’s team<\/a> of legal writers and editors<\/i><\/p>\n\n | Last updated\n

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While each jurisdiction has its own specific definition of extortion<\/a>, it’s generally defined as getting someone else’s property through threats or false claims of right. Although extortion sounds similar to robbery<\/a>, it’s different because it doesn’t involve an imminent threat of danger to the victim. Extortion is treated as a serious crime in most jurisdictions, including in the District of Columbia.<\/p>\r\n

Comparing Extortion and Blackmail<\/h2>\r\n

Extortion and blackmail are very similar concepts. In fact, in the Code of the District of Columbia, blackmail<\/a> is listed under the extortion subchapter, but D.C. does distinguish between these two crimes. Blackmail occurs if a person, intending to obtain the property of another person or force them to take or not take certain actions, threatens to:<\/p>\r\n