RICO Act indictments often involve defendants who have pleaded guilty to lesser charges and had their assets seized, placing the defendant in a precarious position to seek legal counsel. The acts must also be related in nature by sharing similar purposes, results, participants, victims, or methods of commission.įiling a federal criminal appeal for a RICO Act violation can be a lengthy and complex process. This 10-year period does not include periods of imprisonment. The second racketeering act must have occurred within 10 years of the first racketeering act. The prosecution must prove that you have committed at least two acts of racketeering activity within a 10-year period. The RICO Act does not reach the substance of the criminal acts themselves, but acts as a conduit for prosecuting the activity. The RICO Act casts a wide reaching net and captures various criminal acts that classify as racketeering acts. Appealing a RICO Act Indictment: What Must the Prosecution Prove? Further, a RICO indictment can force a defendant to plead guilty to lesser charges. A performance bond ascertains that the defendant has assets to seize, and that the defendant will pay if found guilty. This permits the government to seize a defendant’s assets and require that the defendant put forth a performance bond. RICO indictments allow for the government to issue a pre-trial restraining order or injunction against the defendant. If found guilty, you will also have to surrender any gains or business interests acquired through engaging in the racketeering activity. You will likely face a life sentence if one of the racketeering activities you were convicted of is punishable by life in prison. If found guilty under the RICO Act, you could be charged with fines of up to $25,000, and a prison sentence for up to 20 years. If you have committed at least two acts of racketeering activity within 10 years, you can be charged with racketeering. What if I have been indicted under the RICO Act? Today, the commonplace RICO defendant is the CEO of a corporation, controlling shareholder of a corporation, trustee, or the leader figure of a political group. Who can be charged with a RICO Violation?Īlthough its original application was to target Mafia leaders, today, the RICO Act can be used against an individual person as well as an enterprise, such as a partnership, corporation, association, union, legal entity, or individuals associated in fact. Although this list is not exhaustive, racketeering activity includes criminal acts such as: gambling, murder, kidnap, extortion, arson, robbery, bribery, drug trafficking, counterfeiting, theft, embezzlement, fraud, obstruction of justice, slavery, money laundering, commission of murder-for-hire, bankruptcy fraud or securities fraud, criminal copyright infringement, aiding or assisting aliens in illegally entering the country for financial gain, and acts of terrorism. §1961, racketeering activity is comprised of an extensive list of thirty-five criminal acts. It requires that the leaders of organized crimes be charged and tried with the same criminal acts that they ordered others to perform. It most frequently arises in cases of mail and wire fraud. The RICO Act casts a wide net entrapping various criminal acts including gambling, murder, kidnap, extortion, arson, robbery, drug trafficking, fraud, and copyright infringement, to name a few. The RICO Act was originally established to prosecute Mafia activity, but today it is often used as a tool to investigate white-collar criminal activity in business organizations, corporations, and political groups. The Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO” Act) is a federal law enacted by Congress to criminalize organized crime and the engagement in an ongoing pattern of racketeering activity.
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