Top Fort Defiance, AZ RICO Lawyers Near You
3375 Tamiami Trail E, Ste 200, Naples, FL 34112
505 20th St N, Suite 1500, Birmingham, AL 35203
4800 North Scottsdale Rd, Suite 2200, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
1717 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20006
604 Quaker Rd, Chappaqua, NY 10514
5800 Corporate Dr, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15237
300 Ottawa Ave NW, Suite 620, Grand Rapids, MI 49503
1825 Eye Street NW, Washington, DC 20006-5403
75 Port City Landing, Suite 110, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
1225 17th Street, Suite 1700, Denver, CO 80202
One Federal Place, Ste. 1000, 1819 Fifth Avenue North, Birmingham, AL 35203
5002 West Ave., San Antonio, TX 78213
701 Waterford Way, Suite 340, Miami, FL 33126
650 Third Avenue South, Suite 260, Minneapolis, MN 55402
2049 Century Park East, Fifth Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90067
8950 SW 74th Ct, Suite 2201, Miami, FL 33156
286 Santa Clara Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610
3 Executive Campus, Suite 350, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
3700 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 950, Los Angeles, CA 90010
600 New Hampshire Ave., NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20037-1931
111 Congress Avenue, Suite 1400, Austin, TX 78701-4093
41 South High Street, Suite 3250, Columbus, OH 43215
312 Walnut Street, Suite 1800, Cincinnati, OH 45202
70 West Madison Street, Suite 5200, Chicago, IL 60602
504 Huey P. Long Ave, Gretna, LA 70053-6028
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.