Oregon Extortion and Blackmail Laws: Penalties (2026)

Blackmail is a crime in Oregon under another name: extortion, ORS 164.075, a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. A person commits extortion by compelling or inducing someone to deliver property or services, or to "refrain from reporting unlawful conduct to a law enforcement agency," by instilling fear of one of eight listed future acts. Oregon's list has no clause for exposing a secret or an embarrassing fact as such, though it does list a threat to "engage in other conduct constituting a crime."

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

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Oregon's criminal statutes on extortion (ORS 164.075) and its place in the theft chapter (ORS 164.015, 164.025), the extortion defense in ORS 164.035, coercion (ORS 163.275 and 163.285), felony maximums and fines (ORS 161.605, 161.625), attempt (ORS 161.405), and, briefly, ORS 163.472 and ORS 163.670, as published in the 2025 edition of the Oregon Revised Statutes. It does not cover what to do if you are being threatened or how to get images taken down (see our sextortion scams guide), the sharing of intimate images as its own crime (see revenge porn laws by state), federal offenses (covered on our extortion and blackmail laws by state hub), or city and county ordinances.

What is extortion in Oregon?

ORS 164.075(1) defines the crime:

"A person commits the crime of extortion when the person compels or induces another person to either deliver property or services to the person or to a third person, or refrain from reporting unlawful conduct to a law enforcement agency, by instilling in the other person a fear that, if the property or services are not so delivered or if the unlawful conduct is reported, the actor or a third person will in the future" do one of the listed acts.

Two features set Oregon's statute apart:

• It reaches silence as well as payment. Extortion covers compelling someone to deliver property or services, and also compelling someone not to report unlawful conduct to a law enforcement agency.
• The threat works through fear of a future act, by the actor or a third person, from a closed list of eight.

Is extortion a kind of theft in Oregon?

Yes, but it is handled separately. ORS 164.015(3) lists, as one way of committing theft, committing "extortion as provided in ORS 164.075 by compelling or inducing another person to deliver property." Ordinary theft offenses are combined into a single offense, but ORS 164.025(1) begins "Except for the crime of extortion," and ORS 164.025(3) states: "An accusation of extortion must be supported by proof establishing extortion." The value-based theft degrees also leave extortion out; first-degree theft under ORS 164.055(1), for example, applies when a person, "by means other than extortion," commits theft of property worth $1,000 or more. For how Oregon grades other theft by value, see our Oregon theft laws page.

Is blackmail a separate crime in Oregon?

No. Oregon's criminal code has no offense named blackmail. Blackmail is the everyday word for threatening someone to get money or something else of value, which Oregon charges as extortion when the threat is one on the ORS 164.075 list.

Oregon extortion penalties

The prison maximums come from ORS 161.605: "The maximum term of an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for a felony is as follows: ... (2) For a Class B felony, 10 years. (3) For a Class C felony, 5 years." The fine ceilings come from ORS 161.625(1): "$250,000 for a Class B felony" and "$125,000 for a Class C felony." Under ORS 161.625(3)(a), if a person "has gained money or property through the commission of a felony," the court may instead impose a fine "not exceeding double the amount of the defendant's gain from the commission of the crime." These are statutory ceilings, not the sentence a court imposes in a given case.

Is extortion a felony in Oregon?

Yes. ORS 164.075(2) states: "Extortion is a Class B felony." There is no value threshold and no lower grade, so the class is the same for a small demand and a large one. Under ORS 161.405, intentionally engaging in conduct that is a substantial step toward committing a crime is attempt; attempted extortion is a Class C felony because extortion is a Class B felony. Coercion is also a felony in Oregon, a Class C felony under ORS 163.275(2).

What kinds of threats count?

Under ORS 164.075(1), the fear must be that, if the property or services are not delivered or if the unlawful conduct is reported, the actor or a third person will in the future:

1. "Unlawfully cause physical injury to some person."
2. "Unlawfully cause damage to property."
3. "Engage in other conduct constituting a crime."
4. "Accuse some person of a crime or cause criminal charges to be instituted against the person."
5. "Report the immigration status, or suspected immigration status, of the other person, or some other person known to the other person, to a law enforcement agency."
6. "Cause or continue a strike, boycott or other collective action injurious to some person's business, except that such conduct is not considered extortion when the property is demanded or received for the benefit of the group in whose interest the actor purports to act."
7. "Testify falsely or provide false information or withhold testimony or information with respect to another's legal claim or defense."
8. "Unlawfully use or abuse the position as a public servant by performing some act within or related to official duties, or by failing or refusing to perform an official duty, in such manner as to affect some person adversely."

That is the complete list. It does not name a threat to expose a secret, to publicize an embarrassing fact, or to harm someone's reputation or credit as such; item 3 covers a threat to "engage in other conduct constituting a crime." The accusation clause in item 4 is not limited to false accusations; the coercion statute, by contrast, uses the words "Falsely accuse."

Threats to report a crime, sue, or go public

ORS 164.035(2) sets out one defense written for extortion based on a threatened criminal charge:

"In a prosecution for extortion committed by instilling in the victim a fear that the victim or another person would be charged with a crime, it is a defense that the defendant reasonably believed the threatened charge to be true and that the sole purpose of the defendant was to compel or induce the victim to take reasonable action to make good the wrong which was the subject of the threatened charge."

The defense has two parts that must both be present: a reasonable belief that the charge is true, and a sole purpose of inducing reasonable action to make good that wrong. It is written for threats of criminal charges only.

ORS 164.075 does not list a threat to file a lawsuit. The nearest item concerns testifying falsely, providing false information, or withholding testimony or information "with respect to another's legal claim or defense." The list also has no clause for publicizing information or posting about someone as such, apart from item 3, a threat to "engage in other conduct constituting a crime." Whether a particular demand falls within the statute is a question for a lawyer licensed in Oregon.

Sextortion in Oregon

Oregon has no offense named sextortion or sexual extortion. ORS 164.075 sets no separate grade for sexual demands or for victims who are minors. Where the person targeted is a child, ORS 163.670 makes it a crime to employ, authorize, permit, compel or induce a child "to participate or engage in sexually explicit conduct for any person to observe or to record in a visual recording"; it is a Class A felony (up to 20 years under ORS 161.605 and a fine of up to $375,000 under ORS 161.625).

The general extortion and coercion statutes apply only where the threat is one on their lists. Neither list has a clause for exposing a secret as such. Both, however, list a threat that the actor will engage in conduct constituting a crime: "Engage in other conduct constituting a crime" in ORS 164.075(1)(c) and "Engage in conduct constituting a crime" in ORS 163.275(1)(d). Disclosing an intimate image without consent, with intent to harass, humiliate or injure, is itself a crime under ORS 163.472, described below.

Sharing an intimate image is a separate crime. Under ORS 163.472(1)(a), a person commits unlawful dissemination of an intimate image if, among other elements, the person, "with the intent to harass, humiliate or injure another person, knowingly causes to be disclosed an image of the other person whose intimate parts are visible or who is engaged in sexual conduct." It is a Class A misdemeanor, and a Class C felony if the person has a prior conviction under that section. That offense punishes the disclosure; it has no threat or demand element.

If you or someone you know is being threatened with the release of images, our sextortion scams guide covers reporting and takedown steps. For Oregon's rules on fabricated and AI-generated sexual images, see Oregon deepfake laws, and for image-sharing crimes nationwide, revenge porn laws by state.

Coercion and other offenses people confuse with extortion

• Coercion, ORS 163.275. Coercion covers compelling or inducing a person "to engage in conduct from which the other person has a legal right to abstain, or to abstain from engaging in conduct in which the other person has a legal right to engage," by instilling fear of a listed act. Its list tracks the extortion list with differences: it adds threats to "Unlawfully cause physical injury to some animal," it covers only threats to "Falsely accuse some person of a crime or cause criminal charges to be instituted against the person," and it has no immigration-status item. Coercion is a Class C felony.
• Defense to coercion, ORS 163.285. Where coercion is based on a threatened criminal charge, ORS 163.285 states the same defense as ORS 164.035(2): a reasonable belief that the charge is true and a sole purpose of inducing reasonable action to make good the wrong.
• Fraud and scams. Schemes that obtain money by deception rather than threat are covered on our Oregon scam and fraud laws page.

Recent changes

ORS 164.075 was last amended in 2016 (Oregon Laws 2016, chapter 47), and has not been amended since, through the 2025 edition of the Oregon Revised Statutes. The coercion statute, ORS 163.275, was last amended in 2015 (Oregon Laws 2015, chapter 751).

Federal law

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

Related pages

• Extortion and blackmail laws by state
• Oregon theft laws
• Oregon deepfake laws
• Oregon scam and fraud laws
• Sextortion scams: what to do

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

Last updated: October 17, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is blackmail illegal in Oregon?

Oregon's code has no crime named blackmail. Compelling or inducing someone to hand over property or services, or not to report unlawful conduct to police, by instilling fear of one of the acts listed in ORS 164.075 is extortion, a Class B felony. The list has no clause for exposing a secret as such, though it includes a threat to engage in other conduct constituting a crime.

Is extortion a felony in Oregon?

Yes. ORS 164.075(2) makes extortion a Class B felony with no value threshold. The maximum prison term for a Class B felony is 10 years (ORS 161.605) and the maximum fine is $250,000 (ORS 161.625), or up to double the gain where the person gained money or property from the crime. An attempt (a substantial step toward the crime) is a Class C felony under ORS 161.405.

Is threatening to reveal a secret extortion in Oregon?

ORS 164.075 has no clause for a threat to expose a secret or an embarrassing fact as such. Its eight listed threats are injury, property damage, other conduct constituting a crime, accusing someone of a crime, reporting immigration status to law enforcement, certain strikes or boycotts, false testimony or withholding information about a legal claim, and abuse of a public office. ORS 163.472 makes disclosing an intimate image without consent, with intent to harass, humiliate or injure, a crime. Whether a particular threat falls within the statute is a question for an Oregon lawyer.

Is it extortion in Oregon to threaten to report a crime unless someone pays?

A threat to accuse some person of a crime or cause criminal charges to be instituted is on the ORS 164.075 list. ORS 164.035(2) states it is a defense that the defendant reasonably believed the threatened charge true and that the sole purpose was to induce reasonable action to make good the wrong. How that applies to a specific demand is a question for an Oregon lawyer.

Is it extortion in Oregon to threaten to report someone's immigration status?

ORS 164.075(1)(e) lists a threat to report the immigration status, or suspected immigration status, of the other person or someone known to them to a law enforcement agency. Extortion under that section is a Class B felony.

Is sextortion a crime in Oregon?

Oregon has no offense named sextortion. A demand for property or services backed by a threat on the ORS 164.075 list is extortion, and coercion under ORS 163.275 covers compelling conduct by fear of listed acts; neither list names exposing a secret as such, but both list a threat to engage in conduct constituting a crime. Disclosing an intimate image without consent, with intent to harass, humiliate or injure, is a crime under ORS 163.472. Where the person targeted is a child, ORS 163.670 makes using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct a Class A felony.

What is the difference between extortion and coercion in Oregon?

Extortion (ORS 164.075, Class B felony) involves compelling delivery of property or services, or refraining from reporting unlawful conduct to law enforcement. Coercion (ORS 163.275, Class C felony) involves compelling any conduct a person has a legal right to refuse, or stopping conduct they have a right to engage in, by fear of listed acts.