Top Running Springs, CA RICO Lawyers Near You
333 Twin Dolphin Drive, Suite 700, Redwood City, CA 94065
101 South Fifth Street, 3500 PNC Tower, Louisville, KY 40202-3140
100 North Tampa Street, Suite 3600, Tampa, FL 33602
1710 Rhode Island Avenue, NW, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20036
Two Embarcadero Center, Suite 2510, San Francisco, CA 94111
1000 Maine Avenue SW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20024
712 Kearny Ave, Kearny, NJ 07032
53 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 1550, Chicago, IL 60604
1230 Peachtree St, Suite 1200, Atlanta, GA 30309
PO Box 447, Tempe, AZ 85280
1 Independent Drive, Suite 2300, Jacksonville, FL 32202
155 E Main St Ste 101, Lexington, KY 40507
188 E Capitol St, Suite 1400, Jackson, MS 39201
30 South Pearl Street, Suite 1101, Albany, NY 12207
Hearst Tower, 24th Floor, 214 North Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28202
15 Broad St., Suite 801, Boston, MA 02109
10 N. Church Street, Suite 307, West Chester, PA 19380
282 Memorial Court, Suite B, Crystal Lake, IL 60014
100 Park Avenue, Rockford, IL 61101
20 First Plaza NW Suite 700, PO Box 25326, Albuquerque, NM 87125
706 Derbigny St., Gretna, LA 70053-6119
60 State St, 36th Floor, Boston, MA 02109
2127 1st Ave North, Birmingham, AL 35203
156 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019-2701
956 Main Street, Dennis, MA 02638
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.