Virginia statute
Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-59 — Extortion of money, property or pecuniary benefit
Current through 2026 Regular Session
Part of Article 6: Extortion and Other Threats, Code of Virginia.
Criminal charges under this statute
Full text of Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-59
Statutory text current through the 2026 Regular Session. This publication reproduces the text of the Code of Virginia from the official Virginia Law Portal API published by the Virginia General Assembly's Division of Legislative Automated Systems; it is not the official Code of Virginia.
Any person who (i) threatens injury to the character, person, or property of another person, (ii) accuses him of any offense, (iii) threatens to report him as being illegally present in the United States, or (iv) knowingly destroys, conceals, removes, confiscates, withholds or threatens to withhold, or possesses any actual or purported passport or other immigration document, or any other actual or purported government identification document, of another person, and thereby extorts money, property, or pecuniary benefit or any note, bond, or other evidence of debt from him or any other person, is guilty of a Class 5 felony.
For the purposes of this section, injury to property includes the sale, distribution, or release of identifying information defined in clauses (iii) through (xii) of subsection C of § 18.2-186.3 , but does not include the distribution or release of such information by a person who does so with the intent to obtain money, property or a pecuniary benefit to which he reasonably believes he is lawfully entitled.
Official sources
Legal terms used in this section
Questions this section answers
Is extortion of money, property or pecuniary benefit a felony or a misdemeanor in Virginia?
Extortion of money, property or pecuniary benefit is a class 5 felony in Virginia under Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-59.
Which Virginia statute covers extortion of money, property or pecuniary benefit?
Extortion of money, property or pecuniary benefit is governed by Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-59 (Extortion of money, property or pecuniary benefit).
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.