Top Running Springs, CA RICO Lawyers Near You
2625 Townsgate Rd, Ste 330, Westlake Village, CA 91361
370 17th St, Suite 4200, Denver, CO 80202
5925 Carnegie Blvd, Suite 350, Charlotte, NC 28209
213 Court St, Suite 500, Middletown, CT 06457
333 W. Wacker Drive, Suite 2600, Chicago, IL 60606
777 South Figueroa Street, Suite 4550, Los Angeles, CA 90017
4101 Meadows Lane, Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV 89107
600 Hamilton Street, Suite 200 - Tower 6, Allentown, PA 18101
488 Madison Ave, Room 1120, New York, NY 10022
2121 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 800, Los Angeles, CA 90067
1717 Arch St, 24th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103
111 East Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1925, Milwaukee, WI 53202-4825
801 Grand Avenue, Suite 4100, Des Moines, IA 50309
800 Capitol Street, Suite 2100, Houston, TX 77002
One Beacon Street, Suite 25300, Boston, MA 02108
2901 Cleveland Ave, Suite 201, Santa Rosa, CA 95403
300 Madison Ave, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10017
801 W. 47th Street, Suite 500, Kansas City, MO 64112
8415 E. 21st Street North, Suite 200, Wichita, KS 67206
1401 New York Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20005
200 3rd Ave NE, Suite 300, Cambridge, MN 55008
433 E Redwood St, Baltimore, MD 21202
1625 Eye Street, Northwest, Washington, DC 20006
14362 N Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd, Suite 1000, Scottsdale, AZ 85260
1002 9th St., Woodward, OK 73801
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.