Top Fort Defiance, AZ RICO Lawyers Near You
130 North Main Street, Edwardsville, IL 62025
100 Park Avenue, Suite 2000, New York, NY 10017
365 Rifle Camp Road, Little Falls, NJ 07424
300 S. John Q. Hammons Parkway, Suite 800, Springfield, MO 65806
55 2nd Street, Suite 2100, San Francisco, CA 94105
Silicon Valley Center, 801 California Street, Mountain View, CA 94041
140 Broadway, 46th Floor, New York, NY 10005-1107
1575 McFarland Rd, Suite 201, Pittsburgh, PA 15216
501 Commendencia St., Pensacola, FL 32502
215 South Monroe Street, Suite 601, Tallahassee, FL 32301
600 Old Country Road Suite 328, Garden City, NY 11530
529 W Summit Ave, Suite 1B, Charlotte, NC 28203
211 King Street, Suite 200, Charleston, SC 29401
910 North Elm St, Greensboro, NC 27401
53 W Jackson Blvd, Suite 1424, Chicago, IL 60604
12860 El Camino Real, Ste 400, San Diego, CA 92130
1000 N West St, 14th Floor, Wilmington, DE 19801
100 Old Country Rd, Suite 103, New York, NY 11501
644 South Figueroa Street, Engine Co 28, Los Angeles, CA 90017
6080 Center Drive, Suite 652, Los Angeles, CA 90045
1650 North Kingshighway Street, Suite 203, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701
1201 North Market Street, Suite 1500, Wilmington, DE 19801
101 East Fifth Street, Suite 1500, St. Paul, MN 55101
1524 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
580 California St, Suite 1420, San Francisco, CA 94104
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.