Bezos said the statement AMI was proposing was false and described the offer as an “extortionate proposal.”
Bezos, Fine, and de Becker were not immediately available for comment. Amazon declined to comment. Shares of the world’s largest online retailer were down 1.8 percent at $1,584.74.
Extortion typically involves an effort to obtain property, services, money or some other benefit by threatening violence, reputational harm or other injury, although definitions can vary across state and federal laws.
In Florida, where American Media is based, extortion includes maliciously threatening targets with disgrace, or to expose their secrets. In Washington state, where Amazon is based, it includes threatening to expose secrets that may subject targets to hatred, contempt or ridicule, or reveal information that the targets wanted to conceal.
Federal law defines extortion as someone seeking or actually obtaining “property” through the “wrongful use” of actual or threatened force, violence or fear. “Property” can be something of value not limited to a tangible object or money.
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