This article covers RICO law for Federal and Georgia racketeering charges. This includes RICO law meaning, conviction rates, penalties, types of predicate crimes, and the best RICO defense strategies.<\/p>\n\n The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act is one of the main provisions (Title IX) of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970<\/a>. Per Wikipedia, "The Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 was a major crime reform bill. Its main purpose was to create new tools and legislation that the federal government could utilize to eradicate organized crime."1<\/sup>.<\/p>\n This article provides an overview of the RICO provision within the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.<\/p><\/section>\n\n The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act<\/strong><\/a> targets prosecution for specific types of racketeering activity<\/strong> within an ongoing criminal enterprise<\/strong>.<\/p><\/section>\n\n Racketeering covers acts demonstrating a pattern of illegal activities. This includes crimes such as bribery, fraud, money laundering, drug trafficking, counterfeiting (money or goods), embezzlement, and even election interference.<\/p>\n This is often done through shell companies such as car washes, day care centers, and restaurants. It may be done by legal businesses that manipulate their books to launder money. Criminals utilize sophisticated schemes to receive and redistribute money or goods. Disguising transactions as normal business functions makes these crimes difficult to uncover.<\/p>\n An article on the FindLaw website states that the United States Department of Justice has this to say about racketeering: "It is unlawful for anyone employed by or associated with any enterprise engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce, to conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enterprise\u2019s affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity or collection of unlawful debt."2<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n A criminal enterprise can be as simple as two or more people creating and managing a organized criminal system<\/em><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\n RICO prosecution may apply if an investigation identifies at least two predicate crimes<\/strong>, within 10 years. To be charged under RICO laws, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt:<\/p>\n These charges can come from any of 35 offenses of illegal activities<\/strong>, known as predicate crimes<\/a>. To be prosecuted under RICO law, a person must have committed at least two predicate offenses within a 10-year period. Examples of predicate crimes<\/strong> for RICO charges are:<\/p>\n RICO charges are commonly used to prosecute Mafia members<\/em>, cartel members, gang members, and others who employ a controlled, organized system to commit ongoing crimes. \n\n<\/p> Although less common, there have been politicians convicted of racketeering<\/a>, CEO’s, and entertainers (i.e., R. Kelly, Sean Combs).<\/p<\/p><\/section>\n\n A RICO charge is a criminal charge (federal or state) that stems from racketeering activity. What is racketeering?<\/strong> Racketeering refers to an organized and persistent criminal manner, aka running a racket<\/em>, to illegally generate income.<\/p>\n The FindLaw website contains an article that states, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) summarizes the crime of racketeering as follows: "It is unlawful for anyone employed by or associated with any enterprise engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce, to conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enterprise\u2019s affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity or collection of unlawful debt."3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n Georgia RICO laws<\/a> generally pattern existing federal RICO Act of 1970; however, the Georgia act was written to be broader and easier to apply. Georgia\u2019s RICO Act can be applied to just one individual alleged to be operating a criminal enterprise who is accused of committing only two interrelated crimes.<\/p>\n\n What is the conviction rate for RICO charges? The state of Georgia has no official RICO conviction rate<\/em>. However, it is well established that state prosecutors achieve a high RICO Act conviction rate<\/strong>. An informal estimate is a RICO conviction rate hovering around 97-99%.<\/p>\n Convictions via Plea Deals<\/strong>. RICO cases are built on very substantial evidence, witnesses, and victim testimony. Jury trial outcomes are highly unpredictable. This drives many defendants to accept plea deals where their punishment is known. Plea deals heavily contribute to the high conviction rate for RICO charges.<\/p>\n\n A RICO conviction in Georgia<\/strong> can result in 5\u201320 years in prison; a fine up to three times the amount of the financial gain (but not less than $25,000), or both. Convictions on multiple charges can greatly increase the punishment.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n Federal RICO laws<\/a> provide that a person can be prosecuted under RICO if they have committed at least two acts of racketeering activity within 10 years. The criminal acts must be somehow related (in one of four specified ways) to a criminal enterprise<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n What is the conviction rate for federal RICO charges? The Federal government boasts of a 97-99% RICO conviction rate<\/em>. This is attributed to prosecutorial selectivity and overwhelming evidence. Many federal RICO cases are prosecuted after years of the FBI investigating and documenting crimes.<\/p>\n\n Federal RICO convictions<\/strong> can result in 5\u201320 years in prison; a fine up to three times the amount of the financial gain from the crimes (but not less than $25,000), or both.<\/p>\n In addition, provisions for forfeiture of assets are usually enforced. Conviction on RICO charges requires forfeiture of all financial gains acquired by acts of racketeering. Convictions on multiple RICO charges can enhance the punishments.<\/p><\/section>\n\n A civil RICO claim empowers victims (businesses or individuals) to demand fair compensation for harm caused by the criminal enterprise. The Office of Justice Programs<\/strong> website states that, "Civil litigation under RICO can usually be brought in the following general case classes: securities fraud, bankruptcy fraud, commercial bribery, and frauds that violate RICO mail and wire fraud provisions."4<\/sup><\/p>\n\n Per the Cornell Law School, "RICO allows for a private individual who was injured by a violation of the law to recover treble damages suffered by the wrongful activity of the offender. A criminal conviction under RICO against the defendant will estop<\/a> them from defending the allegations if they are brought to civil court."5<\/sup><\/p>\n\n Can you get out of RICO charges? It\u2019s possible, but very challenging. You will need a very good law firm to get the best possible outcome. Prosecution by the Federal government has nearly a 100% conviction rate. State cases are almost as challenging to win.<\/p>\n\n A successful defense against racketeering charges usually requires upsetting the core requirements for bringing racketeering charges. If the defense can show the absence of legal requirements for racketeering charges your situation is vastly improved. The prosecution could still try to prosecute you for a particular crime. If convicted of the crime your sentence will be far better than suffering a RICO sentence.<\/p>\n What are the areas a defense lawyer can attack? Here are examples:<\/p>\n\n Regarding federal criminal RICO charges<\/strong>, Title 18, section 3282 of the U.S. Code is the default statute of limitation. This part of the U.S. Code specifies, "no one can be prosecuted for a non-capital offense unless an indictment is found or an information is instituted within five years of the offense."<\/p>\n\n Regarding Georgia criminal RICO charges<\/strong>, the statute of limitations for criminal charges related to Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations is five years.<\/p>\n\n The statute of limitations for federal civil RICO charges is five years from the date of the last alleged criminal act.<\/p>\n\n The Statute of Limitations for a state civil RICO lawsuit<\/strong> in Georgia is five years. The Federal Statute of Limitations for a federal civil RICO lawsuit<\/strong> is five years.<\/p>\n\n Generally speaking, any Statutes of Limitation are not absolute. In certain cases and situations, the standard statute of limitations may be extended.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n An example of a tool used to detect RICO offenses<\/strong> is The Corporate Transparency Act<\/a> (CTA). The Act was passed by Congress specifically to identify and prosecute businesses involved in money laundering and terrorist financing. The CTA requires business ownership information reporting requirements for corporations, limited liability companies, and similar entities created and operating in the United States.<\/p>\n\n Companies are required to report information about the individuals who ultimately own or control the business. Using this information, federal investigators search for unusual connections between companies. Being based on assumptions, an owner of multiple (legitimate) businesses could be under scrutiny for RICO charges. Even if you are totally innocent, you should hire an experienced RICO lawyer.<\/p>\n\n The RICO defense experts<\/a> at Grisham & Poole can represent you to fight any federal RICO charges or state RICO charges in Georgia.<\/p>\n This article covers RICO laws for Federal and Georgia racketeering charges. This includes RICO law meaning, conviction rates, penalties, types of predicate crimes, and the best RICO defense strategies. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) is a powerful federal law designed to dismantle organized crime by targeting not just individual crimes, but the ongoing criminal enterprises that commit them. In Georgia, both federal prosecutors and state authorities can bring RICO\u2011style cases, making it one of the most serious charges a person or organization can face.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1261,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,27],"tags":[226,227,224,225],"class_list":["post-2343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-criminal-law","category-federal-law","tag-federal-rico-law","tag-georgia-rico-law","tag-rico-conviction-rate","tag-rico-law"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat are RICO Laws?<\/h2>\n
Targeting Organized Crime & Corruption<\/h2>\n
What is a Racketeering Activity?<\/h2>\n
What Constitutes a Criminal Enterprise?<\/h3>\n
Five Key Requirements for RICO Charges<\/h2>\n
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What Are RICO Predicate Crimes?<\/h2>\n
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Common Targets for RICO Charges<\/h2>\n
What is a RICO Charge?<\/h2>\n
RICO Charges in Georgia<\/h2>\n
Georgia RICO Charge Conviction Rates<\/h3>\n
Georgia RICO Conviction Penalties<\/h3>\n
Federal RICO Charges<\/h2>\n
Federal RICO Conviction Rates<\/h3>\n
Federal RICO Conviction Penalties<\/h3>\n
Civil RICO Lawsuits: Justice for Victims<\/h3>\n
The Best RICO Defense Strategies<\/h3>\n
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Statute of Limitations<\/h2>\n
Criminal RICO Cases<\/h3>\n
Civil RICO Lawsuits<\/h3>\n
Beyond the Statute of Limitations<\/h3>\n
Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting<\/h3>\n
\n\nAre you facing RICO charges? Contact an experienced RICO defense lawyer by calling 678-880-9360.<\/h3>\n
\nCREDITS and FOOTNOTES<\/h4>\n
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