§ 894. — Collection of extensions of credit by extortionate means.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 18USC894]
TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I--CRIMES
CHAPTER 42--EXTORTIONATE CREDIT TRANSACTIONS
Sec. 894. Collection of extensions of credit by extortionate
means
(a) Whoever knowingly participates in any way, or conspires to do
so, in the use of any extortionate means
(1) to collect or attempt to collect any extension of credit, or
(2) to punish any person for the nonrepayment thereof,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or
both.
(b) In any prosecution under this section, for the purpose of
showing an implicit threat as a means of collection, evidence may be
introduced tending to show that one or more extensions of credit by the
creditor were, to the knowledge of the person against whom the implicit
threat was alleged to have been made, collected or attempted to be
collected by extortionate means or that the nonrepayment thereof was
punished by extortionate means.
(c) In any prosecution under this section, if evidence has been
introduced tending to show the existence, at the time the extension of
credit in question was made, of the circumstances described in section
892(b)(1) or the circumstances described in section 892(b)(2), and
direct evidence of the actual belief of the debtor as to the creditor's
collection practices is not available, then for the purpose of showing
that words or other means of communication, shown to have been employed
as a means of collection, in fact carried an express or implicit threat,
the court may in its discretion allow evidence to be introduced tending
to show the reputation of the defendant in any community of which the
person against whom the alleged threat was made was a member at the time
of the collection or attempt at collection.
(Added Pub. L. 90-321, title II, Sec. 202(a), May 29, 1968, 82 Stat.
161; amended Pub. L. 103-322, title XXXIII, Sec. 330016(1)(L), Sept. 13,
1994, 108 Stat. 2147.)
Amendments
1994--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103-322 substituted ``fined under this
title'' for ``fined not more than $10,000'' in concluding provisions.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 1961, 2516 of this title.
