Extortion: what your client wants.

• Author: Stolberg, William H.
• Position: Florida

Extortion is one of the most used, abused, misunderstood, and ignored theories of law affecting the area of marital and family law. Family law cases touch upon criminal issues, often with such subtleties that they are overlooked or just considered part of the normal conflict. It is a common occurrence that threats are made directly or indirectly to report the other spouse to, for example, the Internal Revenue Service for any number of wrongs (usually nondisclosure of income) if certain demands are not met.

Consider a scenario whereby the wife's counsel has advised that in the event a satisfactory settlement is not reached on all issues, many of them monetary, the husband, a medical doctor, will face some problems with the IRS for certain past indiscretions and additionally may face some scrutiny for the improper dispensing of prescription medicines. These threats are made in phone conversations, indirectly in writing, and at mediation, where all conversations are privileged. To some, these tactics may appear to be just another day of squabbling and negotiating in family law. However, this practice is actually a crime, subject to prosecution in Florida, and is a basis to invalidate any agreement or ruling based thereon.

Extortion is set forth specifically in F.S Ch. 836.05 (2008), which provides:

Whoever, either verbally or by a written or printed communication, maliciously threatens to accuse another of any crime or offense, or by such communication maliciously threatens an injury to the person, property or reputation of another, or maliciously threatens to expose another to disgrace, or to expose any secret affecting another, or to impute any deformity or lack of chastity to another, with intent thereby to extort money or any pecuniary advantage whatsoever, or with intent to compel the person so threatened, or any other person, to do any act or refrain from doing any act against his or her will, shall be guilty of a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

It is not uncommon in a marital action to threaten to injure the reputation of another, to "expose another to disgrace," to "expose any secret affecting another," to extort "any pecuniary advantage whatsoever," or to compel the other party to do "any act ... against his or her will." A person advancing these threats, even if not a party to the case, can potentially face criminal liability. (1)

In McKee v. State, 715 So. 2d 1010 (Fla...