Top Running Springs, CA RICO Lawyers Near You
1650 Tysons Boulevard, Suite 400, McLean, VA 22102
53 W. Jackson Blvd, Suite 1424, Chicago, IL 60604
71 S Wacker Dr, Suite 1860, Chicago, IL 60606
1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104-3300
One Parker Plaza, 400 Kelby Street, Suite 1700, Fort Lee, NJ 07024
107 Elm St, 11th Floor, Stamford, CT 06902
1401 Eye Street, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20005
1712 Pearl St, Boulder, CO 80302
10 S. Jefferson Street, Suite 1110, Roanoke, VA 24011
101 Shockoe Slip, Suite I, Richmond, VA 23219
250 W. Main Street, Suite 1600, Lexington Financial Center, Lexington, KY 40507-1746
100 Summer Street, Suite 2250, Boston, MA 02110
1500 Market Street, 12th Floor, East Tower, Philadelphia, PA 19102
800 S. Gay Street, Suite 1200, Knoxville, TN 37929
245 Fifth Street, Suite 103, San Francisco, CA 94103
1301 Second Ave, Suite 3000, Seattle, WA 98101
801 South Figueroa Street, 15th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90017
633 West 5th Street, Suite 2800, Los Angeles, CA 90071
5205 West Clearwater Avenue, Kennewick, WA 99336-1907
80 Pine St, 25th Floor, New York, NY 10005-1759
1499 W Palmetto Park Road, Suite 218, Boca Raton, FL 33486
2100 L Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20037
100 W Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 10, Towson, MD 21204
1110 Market Street, Suite 302, Chattanooga, TN 37402
2700 Weston Centre, 112 East Pecan Street, San Antonio, TX 78205
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.