RICO Racketeering Charges in a Criminal Case

In the opinion of criminal defense attorneys Eugene G. Iredale and Julia Yoo, the RICO (Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations) act is one of the most abused and least understood laws applied in federal criminal cases.

The government uses RICO for strategic purposes, allowing the prosecution to greatly expand the scope and the sweep of criminal charges and bring in additional defendants. Once RICO is brought into play, the government may allege that the defendant was involved in many serious crimes over a long period of time. Even if the specific defendant may have had little or no involvement in these alleged crimes, by bringing a RICO action, the government can assign responsibility for one member of the conspiracy to all members.

The government uses RICO charges when it wants to pull out the litigation equivalent of the atom bomb.

Criminal RICO Cases Versus Civil RICO Cases

There are both criminal and civil aspects to the RICO Act. The criminal aspect of the RICO Act makes it illegal to conduct the affairs of an organization through a pattern of racketeering. In other words, members of an association or business uses that organization to conduct any one or more of 35 enumerated crimes within a 10-year period, then they may be charged with racketeering. Each individual racketeering charge carries with it a maximum penalty of a 20-year prison sentence. These penalties are in addition to those associated with the underlying criminal charges.

The RICO Act also allows any private individual who was harmed by the alleged racketeering to file a civil action for damages. Furthermore, the Act allows for treble damages to be awarded to the plaintiff if he or she does indeed prove harm occurred as a result of the racketeering.