Sentencing for Mattapoisett resident Daniel Spooner, who pleaded guilty to charges of extortion in December, has been postponed to April 26.

Spooner admitted that he attempted to extort $10,000 from the owner of a Southcoast vending machine business in U.S. District Court in Boston on December 16.

Spooner, 53, claimed to be a “strong arm” for an unidentified “made member” of the La Cosa Nostra mafia in Providence, according to court documents. The business owner was told that the $10,000 was for a “protection payment,” and that if he did not pay this money, he and his family would be harmed.

Spooner made threats in person and in a series of phone calls. The business owner paid Spooner $1,000 on August 1. Spooner was arrested a few days later on August 5. He was detained without bail.

U.S. District Court Judge Judith Gail Dein said that Spooner posed a “serious risk of danger to the community and to the victim,” according to court documents.

Following his guilty plea, Judge Dein scheduled sentencing for March 16. This date was postponed to April 26.

Spooner faces up to 20 years in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release and a $25,000 fine.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Providence office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael L. Tabak of the FBI’s Organized Crime Strike Force Unit is prosecuting the case.