CRS 18-3-207 - Colorado Criminal "Extortion" Laws

Updated October 14, 2020

"Extortion" laws in Colorado criminal law | Can I go to jail?

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What is criminal extortion per Colorado law?

You commit criminal extortion when you threaten someone in order to get that person or another person to do (or refrain from doing) something against his or her will. A more common word for criminal extortion is blackmail.

Criminal extortion — and its more serious counterpart, aggravated criminal extortion — is a crime under section 18-3-207 of the Colorado Revised Code (C.R.S.).

Criminal extortion / blackmail penalties

Criminal extortion is a usually a Colorado class 4 felony. Consequences of a conviction can include:

2-6 years in prison (with 3 years mandatory parole), and/or
A fine of $2,000-$500,000.

However, punishment for criminal extortion increases significantly if:

You use or possess a deadly weapon or the crime results in someone being killed or seriously injured (making it a “crime of violence”), or
You threaten the use of chemical, biological, or harmful radioactive agents, weapons, or poison (“aggravated extortion”).

To help you better understand 18-3-207 C.R.S., Colorado’s extortion law, our Colorado criminal defense lawyers discuss the following, below:

1. What is the legal definition of “criminal extortion” in Colorado?

You commit the Colorado crime of criminal extortion when, in order to induce another person to do something against his or her will, to refrain from performing a lawful act, or to give you money or anything else of value, you make a substantial threat against that person or someone else to:

Confine or restrain someone,
Cause economic hardship to someone,
Cause someone to suffer bodily injury,
Damage someone’s property or reputation;

AND

You threaten such consequences by:
- Performing or causing an unlawful act to be performed; or
- Invoking action by a third party — including, but not limited to, law enforcement or other government officials – whose interests are not substantially related to your interests in making the threat.¹

Examples of threats covered by Colorado’s criminal extortion statute include:

Threatening to harm someone’s family member or pet,
Threatening to make embarrassing facts publicly known,
Threatening to ruin someone’s business,
Threatening to break someone’s legs,
Threatening to burn someone’s house down,
Threatening to report someone’s immigration status to law enforcement, or
Threats made in an effort to collect a legally enforceable debt.²

1.1. What constitutes a “substantial threat”?

A “substantial threat” is one that is:

Reasonably likely to induce a belief that the threat will be carried out, and
Threatens significant confinement, restraint, injury, or damage.

2. What is aggravated extortion under CRS 18-3-207?

You commit aggravated criminal extortion if, in addition to any of the acts described above, the threats include the use of chemical, biological, or harmful radioactive agents, weapons, or poison.

Hand holding gun in direction of a blackmail victim

Aggravated criminal extortion under CRS 18-3-207 involves the use of weapons or poison.

3. What is the punishment?

Criminal extortion is generally a Colorado class 4 felony. Possible punishment for Colorado criminal extortion includes:

2-6 years in prison (with 3 years mandatory parole), and/or
A fine of $2,000-$500,000.

However, criminal extortion becomes a Colorado “crime of violence” if, during the commission of the crime or immediate flight therefrom:

You use, threaten the use of, or possess a deadly weapon, or
Someone other than a co-conspirator is killed or seriously injured.

As a crime of violence, penalties for criminal extortion include:

A mandatory prison sentence of 5-16 years (followed by 3 years mandatory parole), and
A possible fine of $2,000-$500,000.

4. What are the penalties for aggravated criminal extortion?

Aggravated criminal extortion is a Colorado class 3 felony. It carries potential penalties of:

4-12 years in prison (with 5-years mandatory parole), and/or
A fine of $3,000-$750,000.

However, if the aggravated criminal extortion is also classified as a Colorado violent crime, the penalty increases to:

A mandatory sentence of 10-32 years in prison, and
A possible fine of $3,000-$750,000.

5. What are some defenses?

Common defenses to Colorado extortion and aggravated extortion charges include:

You didn’t threaten anyone,
You were only joking or venting frustration,
Your threat was not a substantial threat,³
You had no actual means to carry out your threat (and the alleged victim knew that),
You were not trying to coerce the alleged victim into doing or refraining from doing something,⁴
You were falsely accused,
You were the victim of mistaken identification, or
The police obtained evidence during an illegal search and seizure, coerced your confession or otherwise violated your rights.

Call us for help…

For additional help, contact our Denver Colorado criminal defense lawyers at:

Colorado Legal Defense Group
4047 Tejon Street
Denver, CO 80211

Arrested in California? Go to our page on California extortion laws (PC 210).

Arrested in Nevada? Go to our page on Nevada extortion laws (NRS 205.320).

Legal resources:

See People v. Campbell (2007), 174 P.3d 860, Colo. App.
People v. Rosenberg (1978) 572 P.2d 1211 , 194 Colo. 423.
See also People v. Gallegos (2010) 260 P.3d 15, Colo. App.
See also People v. Knox (2019) COA 152, — P.3d —.