Utah Extortion Laws: Theft by Extortion, Sextortion and Penalties

Blackmail is a crime in Utah, but no Utah offense is named blackmail. Obtaining someone's property by threat is "theft by extortion" under Utah Code 76-6-406, graded mainly by the value of the property, from a class B misdemeanor (under $500) up to a second degree felony ($5,000 or more, among other triggers), and using threats to coerce sexual acts or explicit images is a separate felony, sexual extortion, under Utah Code 76-5b-204, with an aggravated form in 76-5b-204.1.

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

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Utah's criminal statutes on theft by extortion (Utah Code 76-6-406), sexual extortion and aggravated sexual extortion (76-5b-204 and 76-5b-204.1), extortion or bribery to dismiss a criminal proceeding (76-8-509), and related offenses, with the sentencing and fine limits in 76-3-203, 76-3-204 and 76-3-301. It does not cover what to do if you are being threatened or how to get images removed (see our sextortion scams guide), the distribution of intimate or counterfeit images as its own offense (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 Utah?

Utah defines extortion inside its theft chapter. Under 76-6-406(2), "An actor commits theft by extortion if the actor obtains or exercises control over the property of another person by extortion and with a purpose to deprive the person of the person's property."

The offense is about property: the actor must obtain or exercise control over it, and must act with "a purpose to deprive." Under 76-6-406(3), the grade turns mainly on the value of the property.

Utah uses "extortion" in three offenses: theft by extortion (76-6-406), sexual extortion and aggravated sexual extortion (76-5b-204 and 76-5b-204.1), and extortion or bribery to dismiss a criminal proceeding (76-8-509). Blackmail is the everyday word for conduct such as threatening to reveal a secret unless someone pays, which the theft-by-extortion threat list covers. Utah Code 76-6-403 makes theft a single offense "embracing the separate offenses such as those heretofore known as" larceny, embezzlement, false pretense, extortion, blackmail and receiving stolen property, among others.

What kinds of threats count?

Section 76-6-406(1)(a) says extortion "occurs when an actor threatens to":

1. "cause physical harm in the future to the person threatened, to any other person, or to property at any time;"
2. "subject the person threatened or any other person to physical confinement or restraint;"
3. "engage in other conduct constituting a crime;"
4. "accuse any person of a crime or expose any person to hatred, contempt, or ridicule;"
5. "reveal any information sought to be concealed by the person threatened;"
6. "testify, provide information, or withhold testimony or information with respect to a person's legal claim or defense;"
7. "take action as an official against anyone or anything, or withhold official action, or cause such action or withholding;"
8. "bring about or continue a strike, boycott, or other similar collective action to obtain property that is not demanded or received for the benefit of the group that the actor purports to represent;" or
9. "do any other act which would not in itself substantially benefit the actor but which would harm substantially any other person with respect to that person's health, safety, business, calling, career, financial condition, reputation, or personal relationships."

Item 9 is a catch-all: it reaches threats of harm to someone's career, finances, reputation or personal relationships when the threatened act would not itself substantially benefit the person making the threat.

Utah extortion penalties

The prison terms come from Utah Code 76-3-203 (felonies, "unless the statute provides otherwise": first degree "not less than five years and which may be for life," second degree "not less than one year nor more than 15 years," third degree "not to exceed five years") and 76-3-204 (class A misdemeanors generally up to 364 days, with a one-year term, subject to an exception, for class A misdemeanors under Title 76, Chapter 5; class B misdemeanors up to six months). The fine ceilings come from 76-3-301(1): $10,000 for a first or second degree felony, $5,000 for a third degree felony, $2,500 for a class A misdemeanor and $1,000 for a class B misdemeanor, plus "any greater amounts specifically authorized by statute."

The value tiers above list the triggers the statute states for each grade; 76-6-406(3)(b) and (c) contain further circumstances not listed here. Theft grading in general is covered on our Utah theft laws page.

Is extortion a felony in Utah?

It depends on the offense. Theft by extortion is a felony when the property is worth $1,500 or more, or in the other circumstances listed in 76-6-406(3)(a) and (b), and a misdemeanor below those amounts. Sexual extortion by an adult is always at least a third degree felony. Extortion or bribery to dismiss a criminal proceeding is a second degree felony.

Threats to sue, report someone, or post about them

Utah's theft-by-extortion threat list includes threats to "accuse any person of a crime or expose any person to hatred, contempt, or ridicule," to "reveal any information sought to be concealed by the person threatened," and to "testify, provide information, or withhold testimony or information with respect to a person's legal claim or defense." Section 76-6-406 itself contains no claim-of-right or lawful-demand exception, but a separate section, Utah Code 76-6-402(3), sets out defenses that apply to every offense in the theft part of the code, which includes theft by extortion:

"It is a defense under this part that the actor: (a) acted under an honest claim of right to the property or service involved; (b) acted in the honest belief that the actor had the right to obtain or exercise control over the property or service in the manner the actor obtained or exercised control; or (c) obtained or exercised control over the property or service honestly believing that the owner, if present, would have consented."

Section 76-6-402(2) limits that defense where property is shared. It provides that it is not a defense that the actor "has an interest in the property or service stolen if another person also has an interest that the actor is not entitled to infringe, unless the interest is a security interest for the repayment of a debt or obligation."

The offense also requires that the actor obtain or exercise control over another's property "by extortion and with a purpose to deprive." How those elements apply to a particular demand is a question for a lawyer licensed in Utah.

Sexual extortion (sextortion) in Utah

Utah has a specific sextortion offense. Under 76-5b-204(2)(a), an actor commits sexual extortion if, with intent to coerce a victim "to engage in sexual contact, in sexually explicit conduct, or in simulated sexually explicit conduct, or to produce, provide, or distribute an image, video, or other recording of any individual naked or engaged in sexually explicit conduct," the actor:

• "communicates, by any means, a threat: (A) to the victim's person, property, or reputation; or (B) to distribute an intimate image or counterfeit intimate image of the victim;" or
• after a request from the victim, or a third party acting at the victim's direction, declines to delete an intimate image or counterfeit intimate image of the victim from the actor's possession, or declines to remove or retract one the actor previously posted or shared from an account the actor manages on a website, application or other electronic sharing platform.

Section 76-5b-204(2)(b) also covers knowingly causing a victim to engage in that conduct or produce those images by communicating a threat. Section 76-5b-204(2)(c) reaches money and other demands: it applies to an actor who, "with intent to obtain a thing of value from a victim or compel the victim to do any act or refrain from doing any act against the victim's will," communicates by any means "a threat to distribute an intimate image or counterfeit intimate image of the victim," or declines a request to delete or remove such an image.

Penalties under 76-5b-204:

• Adult actor: "a third degree felony with a mandatory fine of not less than $5,000." Under 76-5b-204(4), the court "shall order the imposition of at least the applicable minimum fine amount" and "may not waive or suspend the fine."
• Child actor: a class A misdemeanor.
• Separate offenses: under 76-5b-204(5), an actor commits a separate offense for each victim and for each separate time the actor subjects a victim to the offense.
• Registration: sexual extortion and aggravated sexual extortion are both registrable offenses under Utah Code 53-29-202, and 53-29-203 sets the registration period.

Aggravated sexual extortion, 76-5b-204.1. An actor commits aggravated sexual extortion when, along with the 76-5b-204(2) offense, a listed circumstance has been "charged and admitted or found true." The listed circumstances include that "the victim is a child or vulnerable adult" and that the offense was committed "by the use of a dangerous weapon or by violence, intimidation, menace, fraud, or threat of physical harm, or was committed during the course of a kidnapping." The others are that the victim suffered bodily injury or severe psychological injury; the actor was a stranger to the victim or befriended the victim to commit the offense; the actor had a prior sexual-offense conviction; the actor held a position of special trust; the actor encouraged, aided, allowed or benefited from prostitution or sexual acts by the victim with another individual, a sexual performance by the victim, or human trafficking or human smuggling; or the offense involved penetration. For an adult actor, the offense is a first degree felony with a mandatory fine of not less than $20,000 when the victim is a child or vulnerable adult, or when the victim is an adult and the (2)(c) circumstance applies; it is a second degree felony with a mandatory fine of not less than $10,000 for the (2)(b) and (d) through (h) circumstances with an adult victim who is not a vulnerable adult. For a child actor, it is a third degree felony "if there is more than a two-year age gap between the actor and the victim."

The mutual-deletion exclusion. Section 76-5b-204(8) states the section "does not apply" when all four of its conditions are met: the two people are discussing an agreement for the mutual deletion or removal of intimate images of each other; the actor received the other person's images with that person's consent; the actor "is not threatening to distribute the intimate images"; and there is no agreement to exchange goods, services or other consideration, or any other action, "except for the mutual deletion or removal of the intimate images."

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

Civil lawsuit for theft by extortion

Section 76-6-406(4) gives "a person who is adversely impacted by the conduct prohibited in Subsection (2)" the right to "bring a civil action for equitable relief and damages." The action must be commenced "within three years after the day on which the cause of action arises," in accordance with Section 78B-2-305. For other filing deadlines, see Utah statutes of limitations.

Related Utah offenses people confuse with extortion

• Robbery, 76-6-301. Robbery includes taking or attempting to take personal property "from the individual's person, or immediate presence, against the individual's will, by means of force or fear," with a purpose or intent to deprive the individual of it permanently or temporarily. It is a second degree felony.
• Extortion or bribery to dismiss a criminal proceeding, 76-8-509. Covered in the table above: an attempt to get an alleged crime victim to drop or prevent charges through force, a threat that would amount to theft by extortion if used to obtain property, or a promised reward or pecuniary benefit.
• Threat of violence, 76-5-107. This is a separate threat offense outside the theft chapter; a violation of 76-5-107(2) is a class B misdemeanor.

Recent changes

• 2026: H.B. 221 (2026, Coercion Amendments), effective May 6, 2026, moved aggravated sexual extortion from 76-5b-204(2)(b) into its own section, 76-5b-204.1, added mandatory minimum fines to both offenses, added refusing a request to delete or remove an intimate image as a way to commit sexual extortion, and added the mutual-deletion exclusion in 76-5b-204(8).
• 2025: H.B. 13 (2025, Sexual Extortion Amendments) added threats involving counterfeit intimate images to 76-5b-204. Chapter 434 of the 2025 General Session amended 76-6-406, effective July 1, 2025.

Federal law

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

Related pages

• Extortion and blackmail laws by state
• Utah theft laws
• Utah deepfake laws
• Utah statutes of limitations
• Sextortion scams: what to do

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

Last updated: October 17, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is blackmail illegal in Utah?

Yes. Utah has no offense named blackmail, but obtaining or exercising control over another person's property by a listed threat, with a purpose to deprive, is theft by extortion under Utah Code 76-6-406.

Is extortion a felony in Utah?

Theft by extortion is a felony at $1,500 or more (third degree) or $5,000 or more (second degree), and in other listed circumstances, and a misdemeanor below those amounts. Sexual extortion by an adult is a third degree felony, and extortion or bribery to dismiss a criminal proceeding is a second degree felony.

What is the penalty for sextortion in Utah?

An adult convicted of sexual extortion under 76-5b-204 commits a third degree felony, punishable by up to 5 years, with a mandatory fine of not less than $5,000. Aggravated sexual extortion under 76-5b-204.1 is a first degree felony (5 years to life) with a fine of at least $20,000 when an adult actor targets a child or vulnerable adult and that circumstance is charged and admitted or found true.

Is threatening to share someone's nude photos for money a crime in Utah?

Under 76-5b-204(2)(c), communicating a threat to distribute an intimate image or counterfeit intimate image of a victim, with intent to obtain a thing of value or compel the victim to act or refrain from acting against their will, is sexual extortion.

Is refusing to delete intimate photos a crime in Utah?

Under 76-5b-204(2), declining a request from the victim to delete an intimate image, or to remove one the actor posted, is sexual extortion when done with the coercive intent or the intent to obtain a thing of value or compel an act that the statute describes.

Can I sue someone for extortion in Utah?

Section 76-6-406(4) lets a person adversely impacted by theft by extortion bring a civil action for equitable relief and damages, and the action must be commenced within three years after the cause of action arises.