Top Fort Defiance, AZ RICO Lawyers Near You
One South Street, Suite 1800, Baltimore, MD 21202
120 Exchange St, Portland, ME 04101
117 W 20th St, Suite 201, Kansas City, MO 64108
214 N. Tryon Street, Suite 2425, Charlotte, NC 28202
1001 4thA ve, Suite 4368, Seattle, WA 98154
1105 North Market Street, Suite 1700, Wilmington, DE 19801
33 South Sixth Street, Suite 4200, Minneapolis, MN 55402
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7711 Carondelet Ave, Suite 800, St. Louis, MO 63105
555 Flower St, 24th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90012
210 Park Ave, Suite 2750, Oklahoma City, OK 73102
58-60 Main Street, Third Floor, Hackensack, NJ 07601
101 California St, Suite 3200, San Francisco, CA 94111
707 Virginia Street, East, 15th Floor, Charleston, WV 25301
3123 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 100, Atlantic City, NJ 08401
924 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
1331 17th St, Suite 600, Denver, CO 80202
711 Louisiana St, Pennzoil Place, Suite 1750, Houston, TX 77002
225 East Worthington Avenue, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28203
36 S County Commons Way, Unit C3 Rear, South Kingstown, RI 02879
1360 East 9th Street, 1000 IMG Center, Cleveland, OH 44114
350 5th Ave, New York, NY 10118
4375 N. Vantage Drive, Suite 405, Fayetteville, AR 72703
416 E State St, Rockford, IL 61104-1046
One Cleveland Center, 29th Floor, 1375 East Ninth Street, Cleveland, OH 44114-1793
Fort Defiance RICO Information
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What Is a RICO Violation?
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act was enacted in 1970 to address organized crime. Under RICO laws, anyone associated with the criminal group could be charged, including organization leaders who ordered or oversaw the criminal activity without directly taking part. RICO also provided for civil remedies and triple damages to recover unlawful gains.
How Do I Get a RICO Charge?
A RICO charge generally involves participation in a “criminal enterprise” with a “pattern of racketeering activity.” To get a RICO charge, the prosecutor must suspect you were involved in a criminal gang or group and the criminal activity involved more than a one-time event. Initially, RICO was used to go after organized crime and the Mafia. However, since the law went into effect, it has been used to indict a number of alleged criminal enterprises, including street gangs, motorcycle gangs, corporations, and police departments
The RICO Act also makes it a violation to conspire to commit racketeering offenses. Conspiracy to violate RICO charges means that someone can be charged and convicted even if the crime was never carried out. A conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to commit a crime, with some overt act towards furthering the offense.
What Does the RICO Act Cover?
A “pattern of racketeering activity” requires at least two qualifying acts, within a period of ten years. The RICO Act has included several crimes that qualify as racketeering activity, including state and federal offenses. Acts of racketeering can include:
- Illegal gambling
- Murder
- Kidnapping
- Extortion
- Arson
- Robbery
- Bribery
- Dealing in obscene matter
- Drug offenses
- Counterfeiting
- Theft
- Embezzlement
- Fraud
- Witness tampering
- Human trafficking
- Money laundering
- Murder-for-hire
- Loan-sharking
- Terrorism
- Mail fraud
- Wire fraud
- Securities fraud
How Serious Is a RICO Charge?
A RICO charge is a serious criminal offense that carries the possibility of jail time, fines, and seizure of assets. RICO charges are federal felony charges that include imprisonment for up to 20 years or more. In addition to prison penalties, there are severe financial penalties, which include forfeiture of any interest, security, or property derived from racketeering activity.
There are also civil penalties under RICO. A violation of the RICO Act could include ordering the defendant to turn over financial or business interests, restrict future activities, and break up organizations. Civil remedies can also require restitution to any victims of the criminal offenses.
How Do You Beat a RICO Case?
When federal prosecutors charge someone with RICO offenses, the penalties can include years in federal prison and loss of your financial assets. However, you may have a strong legal case to beat RICO charges. Legal defenses may include challenging the prosecutor’s case to show there was no criminal enterprise and no pattern of criminal activity.
Even if you were involved in criminal activity, it has to be a pattern of racketeering. If there is only evidence of one crime, the defendant should not be convicted under RICO. Alternatively, committing a crime on your own without participation in a criminal organization may be another defense strategy.
Prosecutors may rely on the seriousness of RICO charges to get the defendant to plead guilty to other charges instead of facing the increased RICO penalties. However, before you plead guilty to criminal charges, you should consider talking to a criminal defense attorney for legal advice.