Top Crownpoint, NM RICO Lawyers Near You
13620 49th Street North, Clearwater, FL 33762
1360 East 9th Street, 1000 IMG Center, Cleveland, OH 44114
100 South Fifth Street, Suite 800, Minneapolis, MN 55402
100 West Michigan Avenue, Suite 200, Kalamazoo, MI 49007
7310 N 16th St, 330A, Phoenix, AZ 85020
492 S High St, Suite 300, Columbus, OH 43215
32255 Northwestern Highway, Suite 190, Farmington Hills, MI 48334
713 Kirby Street, PO Box 3305, Lake Charles, LA 70601
40950 Woodward Ave, Suite 100, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304
227 W Monroe St, Suite 3600, Chicago, IL 60606
21 West Park Avenue, Savannah, GA 31401
One Liberty Square, 55 Beattie Place, Suite 1200, Greenville, SC 29601
415 Washington Street, Suite 103, Waukegan, IL 60085
111 Monument Cir, 3900 Salesforce Tower, Indianapolis, IN 46204
600 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 500, Los Angeles, CA 90017
1710 Rhode Island Avenue, NW, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20036
403 Main Street, Suite 716, Buffalo, NY 14203
280 Plaza, Suite 1300, 280 North High Street, Columbus, OH 43215
12670 High Bluff Drive, San Diego, CA 92130
8150 N Central Expy, Suite M1101, Dallas, TX 75206
9100 West CHester Town Centre Dr, Suite 210, West Chester, OH 45069
22 E 100 S, Suite 400, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
4643 South Ulster St, Suite 970, Denver, CO 80237
1100 Peachtree St NE, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30309
550 S Hope St, Suite 2170, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Crownpoint 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.