Top Fort Defiance, AZ RICO Lawyers Near You
701 8th Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20001
1050 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036
701 Poydras Street, Suite 3500, New Orleans, LA 70139
625 Main Street, Suite 206, Nashville, TN 37206
500 North Akard, Ste. 2150, Dallas, TX 75201
600 West Broadway, Suite 1060, San Diego, CA 92101
175 Sully's Trail, Suite 200, Pittsford, NY 14534
430 Davis Drive, Suite 400, Research Triangle Park, NC 27560
4695 MacArthur Court, 11th Floor, Newport Beach, CA 92660
6767 N Wickham Rd, Suite 400, Melbourne, FL 32940
825 N Prospect Ave, Unit 3201, Milwaukee, WI 53202
75 State Street, Boston, MA 02109
3401 Allen Pkwy, Suite 101, Houston, TX 77019
455 Capitol Mall, Suite 330B, Sacramento, CA 95814
33 N. LaSalle St., Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60602
2615 East Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 300, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
400 N Ashley Dr, Suite 2600, Tampa, FL 33602
1221 Main Street, Suite 1600, Columbia, SC 29201
Esplanade Center III, 2415 E. Camelback Rd, Suite 800, Phoenix, AZ 85016
PO Box 4356, Burlington, VT 05406
One Federal Street, 27th Floor, Boston, MA 02110
330 Madison Ave, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10017
350 Linden Oaks, Third Floor, Rochester, NY 14625
100 Europa Drive, Suite 351, Chapel Hill, NC 27517
Pan American Life Center, 601 Poydras St Ste 2323, New Orleans, LA 70130-6007
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.