blackmail

Blackmail or extortion , which can be used interchangeably, pursuant to the 1942 Illinois Supreme Court opinion in People v. Mahumed , is an unlawful act of one party such as intentionally threatening, accusing of crime, injuring the other party’s property , or exposing secrets if the demands from a person or group are not met, in exchange for money or other things that are significantly valuable to them. See Model Penal Code § 223.4.

[Last reviewed in January of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team ]

Keywords

• lawsuits-court
• criminal law

Wex

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