Top Running Springs, CA RICO Lawyers Near You
1301 Avenue of the Americas, 42nd Floor, New York, NY 10019-5820
2425 Post Rd, Suite 200, Southport, CT 06890
650 Town Center Drive, Suite 700, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
3100 N State St, Suite 300, Jackson, MS 39216
333 S. Kirkwood Road, Suite 300, St. Louis, MO 63122
Columbia Tower, 701 Fifth Avenue, 42nd Floor, Seattle, WA 98104
12240 Inwood Road, Suite 220, Dallas, TX 75244
205 West Martin Street, PO box 150, Raleigh, NC 27602
333 West Fort Street, Suite 1400, Detroit, MI 48226
106 South Main Street, Suite 1100, Akron, OH 44308
1500 Main Street, Suite 2700, Springfield, MA 01103
515 Flower St, Suite 4300, Los Angeles, CA 90071
811 Main Street, Suite 3700, Houston, TX 77002
1301 McKinney St, Suite 1400, Houston, TX 77010
560 Main Street, Chatham, NJ 07928
2433 Oak Valley Dr, Ste 500, Ann Arbor, MI 48103
301 Commerce St, Suite 2001, Fort Worth, TX 76102
1200 Brickell Ave, Ste 520, Miami, FL 33131
601 King Street, Suite 406, Alexandria, VA 22314
503 Saginaw St, Suite 1426, Flint, MI 48502
303 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 5300, Atlanta, GA 30308
1050 17th Street, Suite 2400, Denver, CO 80265
725 South Figueroa Street, Ste 3800, Los Angeles, CA 90017
2425 E Camelback Rd, Suite 650, Phoenix, AZ 85016
165 E. Magnolia Avenue, Suite 223, Auburn, AL 36830
Running Springs 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.