Blackmail is the threatening, coercive act of demanding payment or another benefit from someone in return for not revealing compromising or damaging information about them—with the threat often being to reveal the information to the victim’s friends, family, or business associates. Blackmail (sometimes referred to as the crime of coercion or extortion) is a criminal offense in most states—whether the information is true or false.
The definition and penalties for the crime of blackmail vary from state to state—in some states blackmail is part of the criminal offense of extortion, and in some states blackmail and extortion are separate criminal offenses. The crime of blackmail may be prosecuted as a felony in some states—with potential prison time—or as a misdemeanor eligible for probation. The criminal offense of blackmail, coercion, or extortion is usually located in a state’s penal or criminal code (statutes).
Blackmail is also a federal crime when the threat is to report or testify against someone regarding an alleged violation of federal law (tax evasion, for example), coupled with a demand for money or something else of value in return for the blackmailer not reporting or testifying regarding the alleged violation of federal law.
In Ohio, blackmail is generally considered a form of extortion, which is a criminal offense under Ohio Revised Code Section 2905.11. This statute defines extortion as obtaining something of value from another by threatening or using certain harmful actions against the person, their property, or their reputation. The threats can include exposing a secret or publicizing an asserted fact, whether true or false, that would affect the person's personal or business reputation. Depending on the circumstances, the crime of extortion in Ohio can be prosecuted as a felony, which may result in prison time, or as a misdemeanor, which could lead to probation. Additionally, under federal law, blackmail becomes a federal crime when it involves a threat to report someone for a violation of federal law, such as tax evasion, in exchange for money or something else of value. The federal statute that typically covers blackmail in these instances is 18 U.S.C. § 873.
