Cindy attempted blackmail by threatening reveal the news of Harold’s extra-marital affair to his wife unless Harold gave her $10,000.
blackmail
Definition
Coercion by unjustifiably threatening to reveal to another person or to the public substantially true information that is embarrassing, injurious, or incriminating. Although revealing this information is not in itself a crime, blackmail that comes in the form of demanding money in exchange for withholding information is considered criminal behavior.
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
An unjustified demand, threatening to reveal embarrassing, disgraceful, or damaging facts (or rumors) about a person to the public, family, spouse, or associates unless paid off to not carry out the threat. Blackmail is charged under the crime of extortion.
Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.
August 19, 2010, 5:11 pm
“Of particular relevance to the present case, the nature and circumstances of the defendant’s crime may make discounting to present value of only limited utility in assessing loss. Peel’s attempted blackmail of his ex-wife is a case in point. A blackmailer is apt not to stick to his deal with his victim but instead to come back for more later…, so that the initially intended loss is apt to understate the loss to the victim had the blackmail succeeded. True, if Peel were to give all the photos back to his ex-wife, as he promised to do, he could not have blackmailed her further. But there would have been no assurance that he would do that, since she didn’t know how many of the photos he had. And even if the blackmailer doesn’t return for more, the victim is apt to be in constant fear of such a return, adding to the cost of the crime.” J. Posner, United States v. Peel, 595 F.3d 763, 773 (7th Cir. 2010).
