An official received an all-expenses-paid trip after a land development deal was approved. What term best describes this conduct?

• A. Need recognition
• B. Illegal gratuity
• C. Economic extortion
• D. Collusion

Answer: (B)

Accepting a thing of value as a reward for an official act that has already occurred is illegal gratuity. Here, the official got an all-expenses-paid trip after approving the land development deal, which serves as a reward for a decision that was just made. The key point is that the benefit is given after the act in exchange for that act being completed, not to influence it beforehand. That timing and purpose align with illegal gratuity. It isn’t economic extortion, which involves threats to obtain something, nor collusion, which is a secret agreement to commit wrongdoing. The option about need recognition isn’t a standard fit for this scenario.