Extortion is the act of obtaining money or property from a victim by threatening, intimidating, or by false claim of right. An example of false claim of right may be where a person impersonates an official government official, like an IRS agent. Extortion takes several different forms, such as that of blackmail, where a victim is threatened with the exposure of embarrassing information to family, friend, and their community. Extortion also occurs where someone entrusted to deliver a package for hire, such as a postal carrier, takes the package for his own use instead of delivering it.

The California Penal Code Section 518 gives the basic definition of extortion, which reads:

“Extortion is the obtaining of property from another, with his consent, or the obtaining of an official act of a public officer, induced by a wrongful use of force or fear, or under color of official right."

The California Penal Code Section 519 defines the actions which constitute fear induced by threat:

“1. To do an unlawful injury to the person or property of the individual threatened or of a third person; or,
2. To accuse the individual threatened, or any relative of his, or member of his family, of any crime; or,
3. To expose, or to impute to him or them any deformity, disgrace or crime; or,
4. To expose any secret affecting him or them."

The punishment for extortion depends on whether force was used in extorting money or other property. Where force or threat was used, punishment is in the state prison for 2, 3, or 4 years. The preceding term of years are referred to as the low, mid, and high terms. The middle term is usually the appropriate sentence that is handed down in a felony case, unless mitigating or aggravating circumstances exist which would merit a lower or higher sentence. For example, an aggravating circumstance occurs where an embezzlement victim is elderly, or dependent, thus justifying the imposition of the higher term. However, where only threats were used to extort money or property, extortion is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year or in the state prison, and/or by a fine up to $10,000.

Even where no property or money exchanged hands, but where a person signs a paper obligating him to a debt, demand, charge or right of action, where the circumstances were by the means constituting extortion, will be charged and punished as extortion.