I think it's not only extortion, it's blackmail, and depending on how the parents paid their son it may have been a federal offense: https://www.law.cornell.edu

I think it's not only extortion, it's blackmail, and depending on how the parents paid their son it may have been a federal offense: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/873 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/873 The son was likely guilty of some sort of larceny (theft by deception) and it may have been a federal offense, especially if it crossed state lines or involved the postal system.