Questions tagged [blackmail]
27 questions
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Can an employee demand an exorbitant sum for vital work?
Here's a hypothetical situation:
Alice is the sole software engineer at Bob's company.
Bob notices a software bug and asks Alice to fix it. He tells her that the bug is costing the company $100,000/day.
Alice realizes that it would only take her…
user71827
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Is threatening to go to the police blackmailing?
Bob has strong evidence that his landlord engages in illegal activity as he allegedly hosts illegal poker sessions in his basement.
On the other hand, the landlord neglects his duties from the lease contract (the washing machine is broken for a long…
PMF
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Did CNN blackmail a private citizen?
Recently CNN went after the Reddit user who created a GIF (animated image) of President Trump smashing a WWE fighter with CNN's logo superimposed on the WWE fighter's head making it look like Trump was bashing CNN.
Once the meme went viral, CNN…
Rstew
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Blackmail inside Germany
I have a question about a common problem ... I have a female friend who lives in Saudi Arabia and her ex-boyfriend who lives in Germany blackmailed her with her own private pictures, that if she does not send him money , he is going to post her…
Sayuri
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How to mention a possibility of litigation/prosecution without accidentally making a "demand with menaces", in English criminal law?
In English Law, extortion and blackmail are described under section 21 Theft Act 1968, as an "unwarranted demand with menaces", There's criteria and definitions, but they don't seem to matter much here. For this question the main definitions are…
Stilez
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Is it a crime for a mail lady to take mail out of your hand, threaten to destroy it and drive off?
The mail lady knocked on my door, handed me a stack of mail, and asked for me to sign for one piece of certified mail for my dad. I declined.
She ended up snatching all the mail she handed me which was primarily non certified (Only one piece was…
Username128930
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Why is threatening to sue not considered extortion?
I'm reading about extortion and it says:
Most states define extortion as the gaining of property or money by almost any kind of force or threat of [...], harm to reputation, or unfavorable government action.
It is not necessary for a threat to…
user541686
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Is the National Enquirer guilty of the crime of blackmail?
According to this Guardian article, the National Enquirer has written to Jeff Bezos threatening to publish nude pictures of Bezos unless he stops his investigation into how the Enquirer obtained some private messages.
According to this article by…
Paul Johnson
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When does a threat become a crime?
This question is prompted by two cases:
Richard Barnard was charged with conspiracy to blackmail after saying he would go on a hunger strike against LaSalle Investment Management, the company from which Elbit Systems [Israeli arms company] rents…
Dave
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Is recording someone without their direct knowledge in one's own home legal?
Consider the following scenarios:
Alice visits Bob's home and he has surveillance devices in operation for security which record all of their interactions.
Alice visits Bob's home after they go on a date and as a matter of general practice Bob…
JosephCorrectEnglishPronouns
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Can you establish a "guilty mind" if the defendant is a victim of blackmail?
For many criminal offences, from what I understand, you have to establish 2 aspects: actus reus (the act of crime), and mens rea (the guilty mind). The mens rea can be many things: from as direct as having the intention to commit a crime, to as…
RobertPham
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When does an offer become criminal blackmail?
Suppose Person A has a photograph of another Person B violating a law.
If A demands money from B in exchange for not revealing the photo, then A is guilty of blackmail.
But what if A offers to destroy the photo in exchange for B providing something…
bulldogg9098
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Is saying you'll doing something illegal towards someone always a threat?
Followup to this question: Legality of "counter-blackmailing" with calling/reporting to the police
In it, an answerer provided two criteria for when blackmail is legal in the England and Wales jurisdiction:
(1)A person is guilty of blackmail if,…
user110391
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Blackmail is illegal, but how is that enforced in practice?
As I'm sure you are aware, blackmail is illegal. However, I am curious about how this would be enforced in a real-world scenario. Could any lawyers provide some insight on this?
For example, if I killed someone or my company is committing…
AlanSTACK
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Is fake blackmail still illegal?
Someone spoofed the headers on an email to a redirecting address I own today and it's laughably written, but raised a question for me.
The message claims to have kompromat on me that absolutely does not exist. Clearly it is sent to a large number of…
mas
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