
However, the prosecutor has to prove you earned money or property from the illegal activity, used it to commit the crime, or bought the property with cash gained from the criminal activity. Simply put, if convicted under the RICO Act, you will be facing asset forfeiture, meaning the government can seize money or property connected to the racketeering activity.

If done for financial gain, any action can be punished under the Immigration and Nationality Act.Īny punishable act under section 2332b of the U.S.C relates to acts of terrorism that transcend national borders.Īnd an “unlawful debt” means a debt acquired during gambling in violation of state or federal law and which was acquired in connection with the business of gambling or the business of lending money. RICO is often used to to indict members in an organization for trafficking controlled substances.Īny offense involving fraud connected with a case under title 11, fraud related to the sale of securities, and the felonious manufacture, importation, receiving, concealing, buying, selling, or dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical.Īny action can be charged under the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act.


The RICO Act primarily focused on racketeering activity to profit from organized illegal activity, such as group participation. The federal RICO Act is also commonly used to deal with a broader range of criminal activity committed by extortion and coercion. If members of the organization commit any of the listed federal and state crimes within ten years, the RICO Act applies.įederal prosecutors initially used RICO as a powerful tool to fight organized crime groups that were committing broad illegal activities as a criminal enterprise. Put simply, RICO allows members of criminal enterprises to be charged with racketeering. Instead, it usually appears in the environment of organized crime–gangs, gambling rings, mafia, etc. Racketeering is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. Now, federal prosecutors possess the authority to indict anyone who is part of the organization or who participates in a criminal enterprise with racketeering activity. RICO allows federal prosecutors to indict anyone in an organization with racketeering activity.
