extortion racket meaning of extortion racket in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

In some jurisdictions, actually obtaining the benefit is not required to commit the offense, and making a threat of violence which refers to a requirement of a payment of money or property to halt future violence is sufficient to commit the offense. Exaction refers not only to extortion or the demanding and obtaining of something through force, but additionally, in its formal definition, means the infliction of something such as pain and suffering or making somebody endure something unpleasant. Extortion is a common law crime in Scotland of using threat of harm to demand money, property or some advantage from another person. It does not matter whether the demand itself is legitimate as the crime can still be committed when illegitimate threats of harm are used. Usually, it’s threat of violence or reporting a matter to a public company or the media that can create allegations of extortion.

• Government prosecutors primarily used the Act to target organized crime and criminal organizations when it was enacted.
• Sextortion,’ researched by Mary Hallward Driemeier, Lead Economist for Financial and Private Sector Development at the World Bank Group, is where sexual favors are traded instead of money for routine business dealings.
• Antitrust laws apply to virtually all industries and to every level of business, including manufacturing, transportation, distribution, and marketing.
• RICO conspiracy charges could be levied against gang members committing the crimes.

Typical Black Hand tactics involved sending a letter to a victim threatening bodily harm, kidnapping, arson, or murder. The letter demanded a specified amount of money to be delivered to a specific place. A criminal complaint filed today charges Stancl with the bomb threats plus repeated sexual assault of same child , possession of child pornography, second and third degree sexual assaults and five counts of child enticement. Jared Abrahams was sentenced to 18 months in jail after using Google Dorking to commit sextortion crimes against Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf along with around 150 other women. 13-year-old Amanda Todd was blackmailed by an online friend into exposing her breasts to him on her webcam.

extortion racket

For instance, in Sicily, mafiosi know all the thieves and fences in their territory, and can track down stolen goods and punish thieves who attack their clients. For instance, automobile insurer State Farm was accused of illegally funding Judge Lloyd Karmeier’s 2004 election campaign by channeling money through advocacy groups that didn’t disclose donors. The case relates to long-running litigation by State Farm customers who alleged that they were given generic, substandard car parts instead of original equipment for more than a decade. Vance … pleaded guilty in January to several charges including enticing or coercing someone into illegal sexual activity and violating the interstate communications law by extorting something of value and threatening to ruin someone’s reputation. In the early history of post-Soviet Russia, law enforcement was too underfunded and poorly trained to protect businesses and enforce contracts. Most businesses had to join a protection racket (known as a krysha, the Russian word for “roof”) run by local gangsters.

An organized crime group determines an affordable or reasonable fee by negotiating with each of its payers, to ensure that each payer can pay the fee on a regular basis and on time. Protections rackets can vary in terms of their levels of sophistication or organization; it is not uncommon for their operations to emulate the structures or methods used by tax authorities within legitimate governments to collect taxes from taxpayers. Recent studies show that mafia groups or gangs are not the only form of protection racket or extra-legal protector, and another important form of protection racket is corrupt networks consisting of public officials, especially those from criminal justice agencies. For example, Wang’s The Chinese Mafia examines protection rackets in China and suggests two types of extra-legal protectors, namely the Black Mafia and the Red Mafia . RICO allows law enforcement officials to file cases against an entire racket. The law allows prosecutors to seize the assets of an indicted party, thereby preventing the transfer of funds and property through shell companies.

How Federal vs. State Racketeering Offenses Differ

An extortion racket or extortion scheme is a criminal practice in which the criminal threatens to harm someone or someone’s property unless they pay him money. Two former Baltimore police officers pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges in July 2017. An organized group may also divert funds from a legal business to use for illegal activities. On October 15, 1970, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (18 U.S.C. §§ 1961–1968), commonly referred to as the “RICO Act”, became United States law. The purpose of the RICO Act was stated as “the elimination of the infiltration of organized crime and racketeering into legitimate organizations operating in interstate commerce”. In law extortion can refer to political corruption, such as selling one’s office or influence peddling, but in general vocabulary the word usually first brings to mind blackmail or protection rackets.

After a total of 13 notes, an increase in ransom to $100,000, then a decrease and payoff of $50,000 to a man named “John,” the child was not produced. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the English-speaking world and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.

The aim is to push goods on to the road so that extortion rackets can be operated. Pirate fleets exercised hegemony over villages on the coast, collecting revenue by exacting tribute and running extortion rackets. Through civil suits and new regulations, the city expelled mob employees and vendors and ended the extortion rackets against honest seafood vendors. Ten people have been arrested on charges of running an extortion racket in the town. In June 2018, Cornel Dawson, the leader of a violent street gang called Black Souls, received multiple life sentences in a racketeering case.

It is usually used in reference to patterns of illegal activity specified in the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act . This is a U.S. federal law that makes it illegal to acquire or control a business through certain crimes or income from those crimes. The term racketeering broadly refers to criminal acts, typically those involving extortion, that involve a “racket”. So if he refuses permission, he will not be inflicting an unlawful damage on her property.

Protection racket

Misdemeanor – A criminal offense less serious than a felony; generally those punishable by a fine, probation, community service, or imprisonment of less than one year. Jurisdiction – The legal authority to hear legal cases and make judgments; the geographical region of authority to enforce justice. On March 1, 1932, Charles Lindbergh, Jr., 20-month old son of the famous aviator, was taken from his nursery in Hopewell, New Jersey. A search of the mansion turned up a $50,000 ransom note left on the nursery windowsill. As the police investigated the scene of the crime, a number of clues were found, that were ultimately useless in locating the child.

During the late medieval and early modern era in the Scottish Marches, local farmers would often need to make payments to the Border Reivers as a form of protection money to ensure they were not attacked. These agreements were called “Black mal”, where “mal” was an Old Norse word meaning agreement. The word blackmail entered the English language in 1530 as a result, but the word’s meaning has changed since.

The U.S. attorney’s office in extortion racket meaning says 31-year-old Luis Mijangos hacked into computers to obtain personal data to extort sexually explicit videos, in exchange for keeping his victims’ information private. Sextortion,’ researched by Mary Hallward Driemeier, Lead Economist for Financial and Private Sector Development at the World Bank Group, is where sexual favors are traded instead of money for routine business dealings. Is basically about an element of abuse of power by somebody entrusted with authority and somebody who is seeking either an advantage or justice from that person who holds the clout. And sadly, it is in all spheres of life – the judiciary, executive, legislator, media, police, army and indeed, every sector of the Nigerian life.

Extortion is a standard regulation offence in Scotland of using risk of harm to demand money, property or some benefit from another particular person. Other forms of extortion embrace blackmail and what’s often known as a “safety racket”. These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word ‘racket.’ Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors.

Therefore, extortion racket meaning racketeering applies to a variety of systematic behaviours, all of which involve obtaining property by way of coercion or threats, implied or explicit, of some future harm. For example, “racket” may refer to the “numbers racket” or the “drug racket”, neither of which generally or necessarily involve extortion, coercion, fraud, or deception with regard to the intended clientele. However, racketeers may offer an ostensibly effectual service to solve an existing problem. Sextortion using webcam content is concerning, especially for those who use them for flirting and cybersex.

Steve Ellis, an immigration adjudicator in Toronto, was sentenced to 18 months in jail in July 2010 after telling a South Korean woman he would approve her refugee claim in exchange for sex. This article may contain wording that promotes the subject through exaggeration of unnoteworthy facts. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. The site is looking for authoritative answers with references people can verify.

Can a Company Be Guilty of Extortion From Customers?

Extortion can happen in a lot of different ways, such as through intimidation and threats like these or through violence. Sometimes, people extort money or favors from other people by abusing their power or authority. All of these kinds of extortion are serious crimes that can carry a lengthy prison sentence. Tenor Enrico Caruso received a Black Hand letter on which were drawn a black hand and dagger, demanding $2,000. Incidents of sextortion have been prosecuted under various criminal statutes, including as extortion, bribery, breach of trust, corruption, sexual coercion, sexual exploitation, sexual assault, child pornography, and computer hacking and wiretapping. Sextortion also refers to a form of blackmail in which sexual information or images are used to extort money or sexual favors from the victim.

• In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases.
• The man stole personal information about 4,000 users and emailed Nintendo Ibérica, Nintendo’s Spanish division, and accused the company of data negligence.
• In many cases, the potential problem may be caused by the same party that offers to solve it, but that fact may be concealed, with the intent to engender continual patronage.
• After a total of 13 notes, an increase in ransom to $100,000, then a decrease and payoff of $50,000 to a man named “John,” the child was not produced.
• When a mobster walks into a shop and says, “Nice place you got here—it would be a shame if something happened to it,” they’re threatening to make bad things happen unless you pay them not to do those bad things.

Bringing any proof of the extortion, such as documents, videos, text messages, etc, will help as you file your police report. Extortion is considered a crime typically done by individuals, either private citizens or public officials; however, there are some statutes where a corporation can be liable for extortion. That being said, it would be an individual in a corporation that would be enacting the extortion and that person would most likely be held accountable as opposed to the entire company.

The gang was found guilty of illegally controlling a six-block section of Chicago. The racketeering conviction included four murders committed and involvement in drug deals. Officials and corporate executives from FIFA were indicted in 2015 for racketeering conspiracy and corruption charges that involved bribes and kickbacks paid to secure profitable media and marketing rights to international soccer tournaments. Rackets primarily functioned in obviously illegal industries, such as prostitution, human trafficking, drug trafficking, illegal weapons trade, or counterfeiting.

The Lokayukta’s office and his official residence were often the locations where extortion demands were allegedly placed on government officials by the judge’s son and his accomplices, according to the chargesheets. Through the credible threat of violence, the racketeers deter both third-party criminals and people in their own criminal organization from swindling, robbing, injuring, sabotaging, or otherwise harming their clients. Protection rackets tend to form in markets in which the law enforcement cannot be counted on to provide legal protection, because of incompetence , illegality , and/or because forms of government distrust exist among the entities involved.

When a boss asks an employee to have sex with him in exchange for a job promotion, that’s ‘sextortion,’ a female magistrate said yesterday. So is a teacher seeking sexual favors from a student seeking better grades. Acts of extortion can range from “protection money” paid by small businesses to local mobsters, to sophisticated cyber extortion schemes targeted at hundreds of companies.

The Hobbs Act of 1946 prohibits extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce. A numbers racket is any unauthorized lottery or illegal gambling operation. Antitrust laws apply to virtually all industries and to every level of business, including manufacturing, transportation, distribution, and marketing.

Spoofing is a scam in which criminals try to obtain personal information by pretending to be a legitimate business or another known, trusted source. The extortionists demanded payment to restore access to infected computers. Larger cyber extortion attempts are almost global in scale and have been launched simultaneously in multiple countries.

It is no longer a hidden complaint how students complain about lecturers demanding for sex for them to get good grades. So, if these instances are something that have been with us, then sextortion is also an age-long problem within our society … A video of the Chinese Communist Party official Lei Zhengfu having sex with a woman was a part of a sextortion plot by a criminal gang. Luis Mijangos was sentenced to six years in prison in September 2011 for hacking into dozens of computers, stealing personal information and demanding naked images from female victims in exchange for not releasing the stolen information. “Special Agent Nickolas Savage discusses ‘sextortion’ and the dangers kids face online.”

Five days later, Colonel Lindbergh received a second ransom note increasing the demand for the safe return of the baby to $70,000. Extortion laws vary by state, with many states using degrees of extortion to classify the severity of the crime. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts.