What is a Rico Charge? How serious is a RICO charge?

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a federal law in the United States that provides for enhanced criminal penalties as well as a civil cause of action for acts committed as part of a continuing criminal organization.

What is a Rico Charge?

Under RICO, a person can be charged with racketeering if they commit “at least two acts of racketeering activity” from a list of 35 crimes (27 federal crimes and eight state crimes) over 10 years and the acts are related to an “organisation” in one of four ways.

Racketeering convictions can result in fines of up to $25,000 and a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Furthermore, the racketeer must forfeit all ill-gotten gains as well as any interest in any business gained through a pattern of “racketeering activity.”

How serious is a RICO charge?

The government’s RICO indictments can result in serious criminal consequences, such as a long prison sentence, large fines, and forfeiture of the defendant’s assets and property, as well as civil lawsuits filed by anyone who has been financially harmed by the alleged racketeering activity.