Penal Code § 210 PC – Extortion by Posing as a Kidnapper

Penal Code § 210 PC makes it a crime to seek ransom or reward money by posing as a kidnapper, or by posing as someone who can secure the release of a kidnapped victim. This offense is a felony punishable by up to 4 years in jail or prison.

The offense is often referred to as “extortion by posing as a kidnapper.”

210. Every person who for the purpose of obtaining any ransom or reward, or to extort or exact from any person any money or thing of value, poses as, or in any manner represents himself to be a person who has seized, confined, inveigled, enticed, decoyed, abducted, concealed, kidnapped or carried away any person, or who poses as, or in any manner represents himself to be a person who holds or detains such person, or who poses as, or in any manner represents himself to be a person who has aided or abetted any such act, or who poses as or in any manner represents himself to be a person who has the influence, power, or ability, to obtain the release of such person so seized, confined, inveigled, enticed, decoyed, abducted, concealed, kidnapped or carried away, is guilty of a felony and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment for two, three or four years.

Nothing in this section prohibits any person who, in good faith believes that he can rescue any person who has been seized, confined, inveigled, enticed, decoyed, abducted, concealed, kidnapped or carried away, and who has had no part in, or connection with, such confinement, inveigling, decoying, abducting, concealing, kidnapping, or carrying away, from offering to rescue or obtain the release of such person for a monetary consideration or other thing of value.

What’s important to understand is that you can be convicted of extortion by posing as a kidnapper without actually kidnapping anyone.

In fact, if you do kidnap an individual for purposes of extortion, you face more serious charges under Penal Code 209 PC, one of California’s aggravated kidnapping laws that prohibits kidnapping for reward, ransom or extortion.^1 2 This felony crime subjects you to a sentence of life in prison.

Defenses

Some of the most common legal defenses include:

• you were falsely accused,
• you were a victim of mistaken identity, or
• you had a good faith belief that you could rescue the allegedly kidnapped individual – and played no part in the alleged kidnapping – even if you collect money for your efforts.³

Penalties

If you are convicted of posing as a kidnapper in connection with extortion, you face a felony, punishable by

1. probation with up to one year in county jail, or
2. two, three or four years in jail or state prison.⁴

In this article, our California criminal defense lawyers explain Penal Code 210 PC by addressing the following:

• 1. What is kidnapping for the purpose of extortion?
• 2. Are there defenses to a 210 PC charge?
• 3. What are the penalties, punishment, and sentencing?

If, after reading this article, you would like more information, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group.

1. What is kidnapping for the purpose of extortion?

Under California’s laws, you kidnap another person when you move another person without that person’s consent by using force or fear

Let’s start with the basics.

Under California’s kidnapping laws, you kidnap another person when you move another person without that person’s consent by using force or fear.⁶

And the California crime of extortion (Penal Code 518) — also commonly referred to as blackmail — involves:

1. using force or fear (defined in Penal Code 519 PC) to compel another person to give you money or other property,
2. using force or fear threats to compel a public officer to perform an official act, or
3. being a public official and compelling another person to give you money or other property while acting in an official capacity.⁷

“Force or fear” means that you:

• actually inflict physical force upon the alleged victim, or
• threaten to inflict imminent physical harm.

Penal Code 210 PC is more directly related to extortion than kidnapping. This is because extortion by posing as a kidnapper doesn’t necessarily involve an actual kidnapping, but simply a desire to obtain money or some other thing of value.

You violate Penal Code 210 PC when you seek to obtain ransom

You violate this law when you seek to obtain ransom, a reward or extort money for the release of an alleged kidnapped person by posing as

1. the kidnapper,
2. the person who has detained the alleged victim,
3. a person who has “aided and abetted” the kidnapper (in violation of California’s aiding and abetting laws), or
4. someone who has the ability to obtain the alleged victim’s release.⁸

Example: The defendant telephoned the father of a 13-year-old girl to say that he and some other people had kidnapped his daughter and that she’d be “hurt bad” if the father didn’t leave for his bank within 20 seconds to obtain $15,000.

The court held that the evil this law seeks to prevent is exploiting a person’s fears over the reported kidnapping of a loved one. If the person believes that his/her loved one has been kidnapped, the crime has been committed, even in the absence of an actual kidnapping.⁹

Now, if you actually do kidnap an individual for the purpose of obtaining ransom, a reward or to extort money or some other item of value, you face charges under Penal Code 209 PC, one of California’s aggravated kidnapping laws.

Kidnapping under these circumstances subjects you to

• life in prison without the possibility of parole if the victim suffers death or bodily harm or is intentionally confined in a manner which exposes him/her to a substantial likelihood of death, or
• life in prison with the possibility of parole if that danger does not exist.¹⁰

2. Are there defenses to a 210 PC charge?

There are a variety of legal defenses that your California criminal defense lawyer could present on your behalf. Examples of some of the most common include (but are not limited to):

• you were falsely accused,
• you were a victim of mistaken identity, or
• you had a good faith belief that you could rescue the allegedly kidnapped individual – and played no part in the alleged kidnapping – even if you collect money for your efforts.¹¹

3. What are the penalties, punishment, and sentencing?

If you violate this section, you face either:

1. probation with up to one year in county jail, or
2. two, three or four years in jail or state prison. ¹²

But as criminal defense attorney Karthik Krishnan¹³ explains,

“We will do our best to fight your charge so that it gets reduced or even dismissed so that you never spend a day in prison…and as former police investigators and district attorneys, we know the most effective strategies for doing just that.”

For additional assistance…

Contact us for help…

If you or a loved one is charged with Penal Code 210 PC extortion by posing as a kidnapper and you are looking to hire an attorney for representation, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group. We can provide a consultation in the office or by phone.

We have local offices in Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, Pasadena, Long Beach, Orange County, Ventura, San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Diego, Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, and throughout California.

Additionally, our Las Vegas Nevada criminal defense attorneys are available to answer any questions about Nevada’s extortion laws and/or Nevada’s kidnapping laws. For more information, we invite you to contact our local attorneys at one of our Nevada law offices, located in Reno and Las Vegas.¹⁴

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