What is the main difference between extortion and robbery?

• A. Extortion requires taking from the victim's person
• B. Robbery requires a weapon
• C. Extortion involves threats of future harm rather than immediate harm
• D. Both have identical elements

Answer: (C)

The main concept tested is how the threat is used and when property is taken. Extortion relies on threats of future harm or exposure to compel someone to surrender property, with the harm or disclosure promised to occur later. Robbery, by contrast, involves taking property directly from the victim by force or intimidation at the moment of the act, using an immediate threat of harm.

That immediate vs. future element is what sets them apart: extortion is about threats of what will happen, not what is happening right now, whereas robbery centers on the immediate seizure of property through force or fear.

That’s why the other statements don’t fit: extortion does not require taking from the victim’s person, a robbery can be accomplished without a weapon (through force or intimidation present at the moment of the taking), and the two crimes do not share identical elements.