Top Fort Defiance, AZ RICO Lawyers Near You
1717 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20006
1858 Ringling Blvd, Suite 300, Sarasota, FL 34236
1125 17th St, Suite 550, Denver, CO 80202
485 Lexington Ave, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10017
33 South 6th St, Suite 3600, Minneapolis, MN 55402
1500 Urban Center Drive, Suite 450, Vestavia Hills, AL 35242
Four Gateway Center, Suite 301, 100 Mulberry Street, Newark, NJ 07102
10655 NE 4th St, Suite 312, Bellevue, WA 98004
18565 Jamboree Rd, Suite 800, Irvine, CA 92612
325 North St. Paul Street, Suite 2250, Dallas, TX 75201
281 Tresser Blvd, Stamford, CT 06901
1400 South Colorado Blvd., Suite 500, Denver, CO 80222
7300 W 110th St, Ste 150, Overland Park, KS 66210
1500 Jackson St, Suite 201, Fort Myers, FL 33901
101 North 3rd Street, Suite 400, Wilmington, NC 28401
3900 East Mexico Avenue, Suite 300, Denver, CO 80210
1 Carecore Dr, Suite 202, Bluffton, SC 29910
26 Court Street, Suite 2306, Brooklyn, NY 11242
8182 Maryland Ave, 15th Floor, St. Louis, MO 63105
213 Market St., 8th Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17101
601 West 5th Avenue, Suite 700, Anchorage, AK 99501
1111 North Loop W, Ste 1118, Houston, TX 77008
222 North Washington Square, Suite 400, Lansing, MI 48933
1500 J Street, Modesto, CA 95354
1901 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 900, Los Angeles, CA 90067
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.