Is Blackmail Illegal in Massachusetts? Extortion Laws and Penalties

Massachusetts has one stand-alone extortion statute, G.L. c. 265, section 25, and no offense named blackmail. A person who maliciously threatens to accuse another of a crime or offence, or threatens an injury to the person or property of another, with intent to extort money or any pecuniary advantage or to compel a person to do an act against his will, faces up to 15 years in state prison, up to two and one-half years in a house of correction, or a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

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

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Massachusetts criminal statutes on extortion (G.L. c. 265, section 25), kidnapping with intent to extort (c. 265, section 26), criminal harassment by distributing intimate images (c. 265, section 43A(b)), posing a child in a state of nudity or sexual conduct (c. 272, section 29A), and the felony definition in c. 274, section 1. It does not cover what to do if you are being threatened or how to get images removed (see our sextortion scams guide), image-sharing crimes in other states (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 Massachusetts?

Massachusetts places its extortion offense in chapter 265 of the General Laws, separate from the larceny statute in chapter 266. Section 25 reads:

"Whoever, verbally or by a written or printed communication, maliciously threatens to accuse another of a crime or offence, or by a verbal or written or printed communication maliciously threatens an injury to the person or property of another, or any police officer or person having the powers of a police officer, or any officer, or employee of any licensing authority who verbally or by written or printed communication maliciously and unlawfully uses or threatens to use against another the power or authority vested in him, with intent thereby to extort money or any pecuniary advantage, or with intent to compel any person to do any act against his will, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than fifteen years, or in the house of correction for not more than two and one half years, or by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars, or both."

The section's heading is "Attempted extortion," but it is the state's only general extortion section. Its text punishes the threat made with the required intent; it contains no element that money or property actually be handed over.

The offense has three parts:

• A malicious threat, made verbally or by a written or printed communication.
• One of the listed threats (see the next section).
• One of two purposes: an intent "to extort money or any pecuniary advantage," or an intent "to compel any person to do any act against his will."

Is "blackmail" a crime in Massachusetts?

No section of chapter 265 is titled blackmail, and section 25 does not use the word. In everyday speech, blackmail describes the conduct section 25 punishes: a threat used to get money or to force someone to act.

What kinds of threats count?

Section 25 names three kinds of threat:

1. A threat "to accuse another of a crime or offence."
2. A threat of "an injury to the person or property of another."
3. For "any police officer or person having the powers of a police officer, or any officer, or employee of any licensing authority," maliciously and unlawfully using, or threatening to use, "the power or authority vested in him."

Its text does not name threats to expose a secret, to harm credit, or to report immigration status. The Supreme Judicial Court, however, reads "injury to the person" to include reputation. In Commonwealth v. Miller, 385 Mass. 521 (1982), it held: "Simply stated, an injury to a person's reputation is an injury to the person."

Massachusetts extortion penalties

Massachusetts states each penalty inside the offense section rather than in a class-sentencing table. The felony line comes from G.L. c. 274, section 1: "A crime punishable by death or imprisonment in the state prison is a felony. All other crimes are misdemeanors."

Is extortion a felony in Massachusetts?

Yes. Because section 25 allows up to 15 years in state prison, it is a felony under c. 274, section 1. The same section lets a court impose a house of correction term of up to two and one-half years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both instead.

Does the amount demanded change the charge?

No dollar figure appears in section 25. It sets one range whether the demand is for money, "any pecuniary advantage," or an act. Massachusetts larceny is a separate offense: G.L. c. 266, section 30(1) defines larceny as stealing, obtaining property by false pretence, or converting property with intent to steal or embezzle, and its text does not mention threats. Our Massachusetts theft laws page covers larceny and its value tiers.

Threats to sue, report someone, or expose a secret

Section 25 lists a malicious threat "to accuse another of a crime or offence," made with intent to extort money or any pecuniary advantage or to compel any person to do any act against his will. The section contains no written exception for a claim of right, a debt, or a lawful demand. Its limiting words are "maliciously" and the two intent requirements.

The section's text does not mention lawsuits, reviews or exposing secrets. Under Commonwealth v. Miller, though, "an injury to a person's reputation is an injury to the person," so a threatened injury to reputation is a threatened injury to the person. Whether a specific demand meets the elements of section 25 is a question for a lawyer licensed in Massachusetts.

Sextortion and intimate images

Massachusetts has no criminal statute named sextortion. Section 25 reaches a demand for an act "against his will" when the threat is one of the three kinds it lists. Because the Supreme Judicial Court held in Commonwealth v. Miller that "an injury to a person's reputation is an injury to the person," a threat to injure someone's reputation is a threat of injury to the person under section 25.

The state's intimate-image crime sits in the criminal harassment statute. Under G.L. c. 265, section 43A(b)(2), a person who "knowingly distributes visual material, including visual material produced by digitization, depicting another person, who is either identifiable in the visual material or identified by the distributing person, who is nude, partially nude or engaged in sexual conduct and to whom the distribution causes physical or economic injury or substantial emotional distress," with "the intent to harm, harass, intimidate, threaten, coerce or cause substantial emotional distress," or with reckless disregard of listed harms, commits criminal harassment. For a first offense the penalty is up to two and one-half years in a house of correction, a fine of up to $10,000, or both. A second or subsequent offense under section 43A, or an offense after a stalking conviction under section 43, carries up to two and one-half years in a house of correction or up to 10 years in state prison, a fine of up to $15,000, or both (section 43A(c)). This subsection punishes distributing the material; it has no demand element.

When the person pressured is under 18, G.L. c. 272, section 29A applies. It punishes anyone who, knowing or having reason to know the person is a child under 18, hires, coerces, solicits or entices the child to pose or be exhibited in a state of nudity with lascivious intent, or to engage in an act depicting sexual conduct, for the purpose of visual material. The penalty is 10 to 20 years in state prison, a fine of $10,000 to $50,000, or both.

If you or someone you know is being threatened with the release of images, our sextortion scams guide covers reporting and removal steps. For AI-generated and altered images, see Massachusetts deepfake laws, and for image-sharing crimes nationwide, revenge porn laws by state.

Related offenses people confuse with extortion

• Kidnapping with intent to extort, G.L. c. 265, section 26. "Whoever commits any offence described in this section with the intent to extort money or other valuable thing thereby shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life or for any term of years."
• Armed robbery, G.L. c. 265, section 17. Robbery takes property from the person: "Whoever, being armed with a dangerous weapon, assaults another and robs, steals or takes from his person money or other property which may be the subject of larceny shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life or for any term of years," with mandatory minimum terms when the robber is masked or disguised or armed with a firearm.
• Threats to commit a crime, G.L. c. 275, section 2. A threat with no demand attached is handled through a complaint to a court or justice. The section provides that "If complaint is made to any such court or justice that a person has threatened to commit a crime against the person or property of another, such court or justice shall examine the complainant and any witnesses who may be produced, on oath, reduce the complaint to writing and cause it to be subscribed by the complainant." If the person is convicted, G.L. c. 275, section 4 allows a fine of up to $100 or imprisonment for up to six months, or the court may instead order a recognizance to keep the peace.

Our Massachusetts assault and battery laws page covers the bodily-harm offenses.

Recent changes

• June 20, 2024: The Governor approved St. 2024, c. 118 (An Act to prevent abuse and exploitation). Section 6 of the act struck subsection (b) of G.L. c. 265, section 43A and inserted two new subsections in its place, and section 5 changed a fine figure in section 43A from $1,000 to $5,000.

Federal law

Federal law also reaches interstate threats and extortion, separately from Massachusetts statutes; our extortion laws hub covers the federal offenses.

Related pages

• Extortion and blackmail laws by state
• Massachusetts theft laws
• Massachusetts deepfake laws
• Massachusetts assault and battery laws
• Sextortion scams: what to do
• Connecticut extortion laws
• Rhode Island extortion laws

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

Last updated: October 17, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is blackmail illegal in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts has no offense named blackmail, but G.L. c. 265, section 25 makes it a crime to maliciously threaten to accuse someone of a crime or offence, or to threaten an injury to the person or property of another, with intent to extort money or any pecuniary advantage or to compel an act against the person's will. The penalty is up to 15 years in state prison, up to two and one-half years in a house of correction, or a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

Is extortion a felony in Massachusetts?

Yes. Section 25 allows a sentence of up to 15 years in state prison, and under G.L. c. 274, section 1 a crime punishable by imprisonment in the state prison is a felony. The court may instead impose a house of correction term of up to two and one-half years or a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

Does it matter how much money was demanded?

Section 25 sets one penalty range and contains no dollar tiers. Its intent element covers money, any pecuniary advantage, or compelling a person to do an act against his will.

Is it extortion to threaten to report someone to the police unless they pay?

Section 25 lists a malicious threat to accuse another of a crime or offence when it is made with intent to extort money or any pecuniary advantage, or to compel an act against the person's will. The section's text contains no exception for demands for money owed.

Is sextortion a crime in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts has no statute named sextortion. Section 25 applies when one of its three listed threats is made with the required intent, and the Supreme Judicial Court has held that “an injury to a person's reputation is an injury to the person.” Distributing intimate images with intent to harm, harass, intimidate, threaten or coerce, or with reckless disregard of listed harms, is criminal harassment under G.L. c. 265, section 43A(b)(2), punishable for a first offense by up to two and one-half years in a house of correction, a fine of up to $10,000, or both; repeat offenses can bring up to 10 years in state prison. When the person is under 18, G.L. c. 272, section 29A punishes coercing, soliciting or enticing a child to pose nude with lascivious intent, or to engage in sexual conduct, for visual material, with 10 to 20 years in state prison.