Top Running Springs, CA RICO Lawyers Near You
500 Woodward Avenue, Suite 4000, Detroit, MI 48226-3425
420 20th Street North, Suite 2300, Birmingham, AL 35203
235 East High Street, Suite 300, PO Box 1251, Jefferson City, MO 65102-1251
770 E Warm Springs Rd, Suite 360, Las Vegas, NV 89119
501 Grant Street, Suite 850, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
2911 Turtle Creek Blvd, Suite 1400, Dallas, TX 75219
4801 Main Street, Suite 1000, Kansas City, MO 64112
33 Wood Ave South, Suite 600, Iselin, NJ 08830
65 East State Street, Suite 200, Columbus, OH 43215
1100 NW Loop 410, Suite 700, San Antonio, TX 78213
1100 Louisiana St, Suite 4300, Houston, TX 77002
355 S Grand Ave, Suite 2850, Los Angeles, CA 90071
1900 Sixteenth Street, Suite 950, Denver, CO 80202
1650 Tysons Blvd, Suite 400, McLean, VA 22102
204 W Davis St, Conroe, TX 77301
420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 2104, New York, NY 10170
233 East Main Street, Suite #3, Batavia, OH 45103
320 S Canal St, Suite 3025, Chicago, IL 60606
2909 Southwest Maupin Lane, Topeka, KS 66614
176 Lexington Ave, Suite O, New York, NY 10016
1650 Market Street, Suite 3600, Philadelphia, PA 19103
227 W Monroe St, Suite 3950, Chicago, IL 60606
212 Carnegie Center, Suite 400, Princeton, NJ 08540
11766 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 750, Los Angeles, CA 90025
101 South Tryon Street, Suite 1910, Charlotte, NC 28280
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.