Is Blackmail Illegal in Alaska? Extortion Laws and Penalties

Yes. Blackmail is a crime in Alaska, charged as extortion. Under AS 11.41.520, a person commits extortion by obtaining the property of another by threatening or suggesting harms such as physical injury, accusing someone of a crime, or exposing a secret, whether true or false; extortion is a class B felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Information last verified on October 17, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Alaska's extortion and coercion statutes (AS 11.41.520 and 11.41.530), attempt (AS 11.31.100), unlawful exploitation of a minor (AS 11.41.455), and the felony sentencing ranges in AS 12.55.125. It does not cover what to do if you are being threatened or how to get images removed (see our sextortion scams guide), the crime of sharing intimate images itself (see revenge porn laws by state), federal offenses (covered on our extortion and blackmail laws by state hub), or local ordinances.

What is extortion in Alaska?

Alaska treats extortion as a stand-alone crime, separate from theft. Blackmail is not an offense name in the Alaska statutes; it is the everyday word for conduct Alaska charges as extortion. AS 11.41.520(a) provides:

"A person commits the crime of extortion if the person obtains the property of another by threatening or suggesting that either that person or another may (1) inflict physical injury on anyone, except under circumstances constituting robbery in any degree, or commit any other crime; (2) accuse anyone of a crime; (3) expose confidential information or a secret, whether true or false, tending to subject a person to hatred, contempt, or ridicule or to impair the person's credit or business repute; (4) take or withhold action as a public servant or cause a public servant to take or withhold action; (5) bring about or continue a strike, boycott, or other collective unofficial action, if the property is not demanded or received for the benefit of the group in whose interest the person making the threat or suggestion purports to act; (6) testify or provide information or withhold testimony or information with respect to a person's legal claim or defense; or (7) inflict any other harm which would not benefit the person making the threat or suggestion."

A few features of that text matter to readers:

• The statute reaches a threat or a suggestion, and the harm may come from the person making it "or another."
• Exposure of a secret is covered "whether true or false."
• Under 11.41.520(b), a threat or suggestion includes "an offer to protect another from any harmful act when the offeror has no apparent means to provide the protection or when the price asked for rendering the protection service is grossly disproportionate to its cost to the offeror."
• Paragraph (7) is a catch-all for "any other harm which would not benefit the person making the threat or suggestion."
• The offense requires that the person "obtains the property of another." Under 11.41.520(d), "property of another" means "property in which a person has an interest that the defendant is not privileged to infringe, whether or not the defendant also has an interest in the property and whether or not the person from whom the property was obtained or withheld also obtained the property unlawfully."

Alaska extortion and coercion penalties

The ranges come from AS 12.55.125. Under 12.55.125(d), "a defendant convicted of a class B felony may be sentenced to a definite term of imprisonment of not more than 10 years," within presumptive ranges "subject to adjustment as provided in AS 12.55.155 - 12.55.175." Under 12.55.125(e), a class C felony carries "a definite term of imprisonment of not more than five years," on the same terms. Both subsections open with "Except as provided in (i) of this section." The maximums are maximums, and the presumptive ranges can be adjusted under the sections named.

Is extortion a felony in Alaska?

Yes. AS 11.41.520(e) states: "Extortion is a class B felony." AS 11.41.530(c) states: "Coercion is a class C felony." Neither statute has value tiers, so the class does not depend on the amount demanded. A demand that does not succeed can be charged as an attempt: under AS 11.31.100(a), a person is guilty of an attempt if, with intent to commit a crime, the person "engages in conduct which constitutes a substantial step toward the commission of that crime." Attempted extortion is a class C felony and attempted coercion a class A misdemeanor (11.31.100(d)(4)-(5)).

Coercion: threats that demand conduct instead of property

Coercion uses nearly the same threat list but targets compelled conduct rather than property. AS 11.41.530(a) applies when, "under circumstances not proscribed under AS 11.41.410 - 11.41.427, the person compels another to engage in conduct from which there is a legal right to abstain or abstain from conduct in which there is a legal right to engage, by means of instilling in the person who is compelled a fear that, if the demand is not complied with, the person who makes the demand or another may" carry out one of six listed harms. Those harms match paragraphs (1) through (6) of the extortion statute: physical injury or any other crime, accusing anyone of a crime, exposing confidential information or a secret, public-servant action, collective unofficial action, and testimony or information about a legal claim or defense. The extortion catch-all for "any other harm" is not in the coercion list.

Threats to sue, report, or expose: the statutory defenses

Both statutes write in a defense, each limited to threats to accuse, expose, or invoke official action (paragraphs (2), (3) and (4)).

For extortion, AS 11.41.520(c) states:

"It is a defense to a prosecution based on (a)(2), (3), or (4) of this section that the property obtained by threat of accusation, exposure, lawsuit, or other invocation of official action was honestly claimed as restitution or indemnification for harm done in the circumstances to which the accusation, exposure, lawsuit, or other official action relates, or as compensation for property or lawful services."

For coercion, AS 11.41.530(b) states:

"It is a defense to a prosecution under (a)(2), (3), or (4) of this section that the defendant reasonably believed that the accusation or exposure was true or that the lawsuit or other invocation of official action was justified and that the defendant's sole intent was to compel or induce the victim to take reasonable action to correct the wrong that is the subject of the accusation, exposure, lawsuit, or invocation of official action or to refrain from committing an offense."

By their text, both defenses apply only to prosecutions based on paragraphs (2), (3) or (4). On the reader questions people ask most often, the statute's text says:

• Reporting someone to the police. Paragraph (2) lists a threat or suggestion to "accuse anyone of a crime."
• A bad review or public embarrassment. Paragraph (3) lists exposing "confidential information or a secret, whether true or false, tending to subject a person to hatred, contempt, or ridicule or to impair the person's credit or business repute," and paragraph (7) "any other harm which would not benefit the person making the threat or suggestion."
• A lawsuit. The 11.41.520(c) defense names a "lawsuit" among the forms of "official action" it covers, within the limits quoted above.

Is sextortion a crime in Alaska?

Alaska has no offense named sextortion. The general statutes cover the threat in their own terms: extortion under 11.41.520(a)(3) reaches obtaining property by threatening to "expose confidential information or a secret, whether true or false, tending to subject a person to hatred, contempt, or ridicule," and coercion under 11.41.530(a)(3) reaches compelling a person's conduct by instilling fear of the same kind of exposure.

When the person targeted is a minor, AS 11.41.455 makes it unlawful exploitation of a minor to knowingly induce or employ a child under 18 to engage in listed sexual conduct with the intent of producing a photograph, recording or other material that depicts it. It is a class A felony, and an unclassified felony if the person has a prior conviction for the offense or a similar crime or the child is under 13 (11.41.455(c)).

For someone being threatened right now, our sextortion scams guide explains reporting and image-removal options. Alaska's rules on AI-generated sexual images are covered on Alaska deepfake laws, and intimate-image crimes in every state on revenge porn laws by state.

Extortion versus robbery

The extortion statute carves out robbery: its first paragraph covers threats of physical injury "except under circumstances constituting robbery in any degree." Under AS 11.41.510(a), robbery in the second degree occurs when, "in the course of taking or attempting to take property from the immediate presence and control of another, the person uses or threatens the immediate use of force upon any person" with intent to overcome resistance or compel delivery of the property. Robbery in the second degree is a class B felony (11.41.510(b)). The difference is immediacy: robbery involves force or a threat of immediate force during a taking.

Terroristic threatening in the second degree (AS 11.56.810) needs no demand. Among other things, it covers a threat that a circumstance dangerous to human life or property exists or is about to exist, made with reckless disregard that the threat may place a person in reasonable fear of serious physical injury by means of a dangerous instrument, cause an evacuation or serious public inconvenience, or cause public fear of serious physical injury. It is a class C felony (11.56.810(b)).

For schemes that obtain money by deception rather than threats, see Alaska scam and fraud laws. Federal law also reaches threats and extortion that cross state lines; see the extortion and blackmail laws by state hub.

Related Alaska pages

• Extortion and blackmail laws by state
• Alaska deepfake laws
• Alaska scam and fraud laws
• Sextortion scams: what to do if you are targeted

This article provides general legal information about Alaska criminal statutes as of October 17, 2026. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Alaska.

Last updated: October 17, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is blackmail illegal in Alaska?

Yes, as extortion. AS 11.41.520 makes it a class B felony to obtain the property of another by threatening or suggesting listed harms, including accusing anyone of a crime or exposing confidential information or a secret, whether true or false, tending to subject a person to hatred, contempt, or ridicule.

Is extortion a felony in Alaska?

Yes. Extortion is a class B felony under AS 11.41.520(e), punishable by up to 10 years (AS 12.55.125(d)). Coercion under AS 11.41.530 is a class C felony, punishable by up to 5 years (AS 12.55.125(e)).

What is the difference between extortion and coercion in Alaska?

Extortion (AS 11.41.520) requires obtaining the property of another. Coercion (AS 11.41.530) requires compelling a person to engage in, or abstain from, conduct they have a legal right to choose, by instilling fear of listed harms.

Is it extortion in Alaska to threaten a lawsuit unless someone pays?

AS 11.41.520(c) states that it is a defense to a prosecution based on threats to accuse, expose, or invoke official action that property obtained by threat of accusation, exposure, lawsuit, or other invocation of official action was honestly claimed as restitution or indemnification for harm done in the circumstances to which the threat relates, or as compensation for property or lawful services.

Is sextortion a crime in Alaska?

Alaska has no offense named sextortion. AS 11.41.520 covers obtaining property by threatening to expose confidential information or a secret, whether true or false, tending to subject a person to hatred, contempt, or ridicule, and AS 11.41.530 covers compelling conduct by instilling fear of the same kind of exposure. Knowingly inducing a child under 18 to engage in listed sexual conduct to produce images of it is unlawful exploitation of a minor under AS 11.41.455, a class A felony, or an unclassified felony with a prior conviction or a child under 13.