Extortion

Extortion is a property crime, of course, because the accused person wrongfully obtains (or tries to obtain) another person's money (or other property). It's generally the same thing as blackmail.

But it raises very hard questions about when a demand is criminal and extortion and when it is a legitimate claim. Surely it is not extortion to say, "pay me the money you owe me or I will sue."

The below cases consider this question particularly in the context of a threat to go public with negative information. Please understand the exact test created by the Federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit--whose jurisdiction includes New York City.

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