Top Fort Defiance, AZ RICO Lawyers Near You
801 West Bay Drive, Suite 715, Largo, FL 33770
1050 17th Street, Suite 2400, Denver, CO 80265
One Oxford Centre, 301 Grant Street, 14th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
1301 Avenue of the Americas, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019
350 Tenth Ave, Suite 1200, San Diego, CA 92101
Key Center at Fountain Plaza, 50 Fountain Plaza, Suite 1230, Buffalo, NY 14202
75 Kingsland Avenue, Clifton, NJ 07014
1201 North Market Street, Suite 1402, Wilmington, DE 19801
2 Research Way, Princeton, NJ 08540
1155 Avenue of the Americas, 26th Floor, New York, NY 10036
625 Main Street, Suite 206, Nashville, TN 37206
433 Plaza Real, Suite 275, Boca Raton, FL 33432
, Barrington, IL 60010
407 N Person St, Raleigh, NC 27601
801 Travis St., Suite 2101 PMB 1440, Houston, TX 77002
1000 Louisiana Street, Suite 6700, Houston, TX 77002
100 East Broad Street, Suite 2310, Columbus, OH 43215
626 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 510, Los Angeles, CA 90017
1801 S. MoPac Expy, Suite 320, Austin, TX 78746
420 Boylston St, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02116
155 North Dean Street, Englewood, NJ 07631
111 South Main Street, Suite 2400, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
3439 Brookside Road, Suite 206, Stockton, CA 95219
301 S College St, Suite 2150, Charlotte, NC 28202
183 Houston Gordon Rd, PO Box 846, Covington, TN 38019
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.