Federal RICO Charges Defense Lawyers

Federal RICO Charges: The 97.5% Conviction Rate You Can’t Escape

You don’t have to commit any of the crimes yourself. Under RICO conspiracy – Section 1962(d) of the federal criminal code – prosecutors just have to prove you agreed to participate in the enterprise’s affairs. You didn’t have to be a leader. You didn’t have to be a boss. You didn’t have to personally commit any of the 35 predicate offenses that create racketeering liability. Agreement to participate is enough. The Supreme Court made this clear in Salinas v. United States: there’s no requirement that the defendant himself committed or agreed to commit any predicate acts. Just that he agreed to further an endeavor that would satisfy the elements of RICO if completed. This is the most powerful charging tool in the federal prosecutor’s arsenal.

And here’s what makes RICO the “ultimate prosecutorial hammer” – two related crimes within 10 years creates a “pattern of racketeering activity.” That’s the threshold. Two acts. The enterprise doesn’t need a formal structure, hierarchy, or name. An informal association of individuals is sufficient. It doesn’t need regular meetings, dues, or induction ceremonies. Courts have held that the group doesn’t even need a chain of command – decisions can be made on an ad hoc basis. If prosecutors can identify any group of people working together toward common illegal goals, they have an “enterprise” for RICO purposes.

The 97.5% conviction rate tells you everything about how federal prosecutors use RICO. Out of every 100 defendants charged, only 2 or 3 walk free. The median sentence is 87 months – over 7 years in federal prison with no parole, serving at least 85% of whatever you get. And the forfeiture provisions allow the government to seize your assets before you’re ever convicted, using civil forfeiture that only requires preponderance of evidence. Your business, your home, your bank accounts – frozen while you fight the criminal case that might take years to resolve.

How “Pattern of Racketeering” Creates Liability From Almost Nothing

Heres how two crimes become decades of federal prison exposure.

RICO requires a “pattern of racketeering activity” – which sounds like it should mean extensive, organized criminal conduct. It dosent. The statutory requirement is just two predicate acts within a 10-year period that are related and demonstrate continuity. Thats it. Two acts.

The list of predicate offenses includes 35 crimes – 27 federal offenses and 8 state felonies. Murder, kidnapping, arson, robbery, bribery, extortion – those are obvious. But the list also includes mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and dozens of others. Basicly any significant federal crime can serve as a RICO predicate.

Heres the trap. Prosecutors dont need to charge you with RICO from the start. They investigate what looks like fraud or drug trafficking or financial crimes. They build the case. Then they identify an “enterprise” – often after the fact – and suddenly two fraud counts become a RICO conspiracy with 20 years maximum exposure instead of the underlying statutory penalties.

Two wire fraud emails sent years apart can create a “pattern of racketeering activity” if prosecutors connect them to an enterprise.

And the “relatedness” requirement is easy to satisfy. Acts are related if they have similar purposes, results, participants, victims, or methods. Same business, same partners, same general criminal scheme – thats related. The “continuity” requirement can be satisfied by showing either closed-ended conduct over a substantial period or open-ended conduct that threatens to continue. Prosecutors argue it both ways depending on the facts.

The Enterprise Definition That Sweeps In Everyone

Heres how prosecutors define the “enterprise” to maximize liability.

The enterprise element sounds like it should require an organized criminal organization – think mafia families or drug cartels. It dosent. An enterprise under RICO can be “any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity, and any union or group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal entity.”

That last part – “group of individuals associated in fact” – is were defendants get destroyed. Courts have held that such an association-in-fact enterprise need not have a hierarchical structure. It dosent need a chain of command. Members dont need fixed roles. The group dosent need a name. It dosent need regular meetings, dues, established rules, or induction ceremonies.

OK so heres what this means practically. A business that commits fraud becomes an enterprise. A group of friends who decide to run a scheme becomes an enterprise. A loose network of people who know each other and engage in related criminal activity becomes an enterprise. The definition is designed to be flexible enough to capture any group prosecutors want to target.

And heres the kicker. The enterprise dosent have to be primarily criminal. A legitimate business that engages in some criminal activity can be the RICO enterprise. Your company – the one you built over decades – can become the “enterprise” through which prosecutors allege you conducted racketeering activity.

RICO Conspiracy vs. Substantive RICO – Why Conspiracy Is Worse

Heres the charge that creates liability for everyone.

There are two main ways to violate RICO criminally. Substantive RICO under Section 1962(c) requires proving you personally conducted or participated in the enterprise’s affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity. RICO conspiracy under Section 1962(d) requires proving you agreed to participate in an endeavor that would constitute a substantive RICO violation.

The conspiracy charge is far more dangerous for defendants. Why? Becuase under RICO conspiracy:

You dont have to commit any predicate acts yourself. The Supreme Court held in Salinas that theres no requirement the defendant personally committed or agreed to commit two predicate acts. Agreement to participate in the enterprise is enough.

You dont have to know all the enterprise’s activities. General agreement to further the enterprise’s criminal objectives is sufficient. You dont need to know every crime being committed.

No overt act is required. Unlike general conspiracy under 18 USC 371, RICO conspiracy is complete upon agreement. Nobody has to actualy do anything toward accomplishing the conspiracy’s goals.

You can be convicted of RICO conspiracy even if aquitted of all predicate acts. The legal standards are different. A jury that finds reasonable doubt on the underlying crimes can still convict on conspiracy to commit RICO.

This is why prosecutors love RICO conspiracy – it sweeps in everyone who agreed to participate, regardless of there actual role or conduct.

The DOJ Approval Process That Means They’re Certain

Heres what happens before RICO charges are ever filed.

Unlike most federal crimes, RICO prosecutions require prior approval from DOJ headquarters. Specificaly, the Violent Crime and Racketeering Section of the Criminal Division must approve any criminal or civil RICO prosecution. This creates an additional layer of review that filters cases before indictment.

Why does this matter? Becuase by the time RICO charges are filed against you, multiple levels of experienced federal prosecutors have concluded the case is strong enough to win. The local U.S. Attorney’s office investigated and built the case. Then they presented it to Washington for approval. DOJ reviewers analyzed the evidence, assessed the legal theories, and determined the charges were appropriate.

This filtering process explains the 97.5% conviction rate. Cases that might be close calls dont get approved. Cases were the enterprise theory is questionable dont go forward. Cases were the pattern evidence is weak get declined. Only the strongest cases survive the approval process.

Heres what this means for defendants. If your facing RICO charges, you’ve already been vetted by some of the most experienced racketeering prosecutors in the country. They’ve seen thousands of RICO cases. They approved yours becuase they beleive its a winner. Fighting these charges means fighting an institution thats already decided your guilty.

The Forfeiture That Takes Everything Before Trial

Heres how you lose your assets before your ever convicted.

RICO has some of the most powerful forfeiture provisions in federal law. Upon conviction, defendants must forfeit: any interest acquired or maintained in violation of RICO, any interest in the enterprise itself, and any property constituting or derived from proceeds of racketeering activity.

But heres the part nobody explains until its to late. Civil forfeiture dosent require criminal conviction. The government can file a civil action against your property – an “in rem” proceeding were the property itself is the defendant. The standard of proof is preponderance of evidence, not beyond reasonable doubt. The government just has to show its more likely then not that the property is connected to racketeering.

This means your assets can be frozen or seized before your criminal trial even begins. Your home. Your business. Your bank accounts. Your cars. Everything the government claims is connected to the alleged enterprise gets tied up in civil forfeiture proceedings that run on a seperate, often faster track then the criminal case.

And heres the trap. You need money to defend against RICO charges – lawyers who handle complex federal racketeering cases charge hundreds of thousands of dollars. But your assets are frozen. You cant access the money you need to mount a defense. Some defendants are forced to use public defenders not becuase they qualify financially, but becuase everything they own has been seized.

The Sentencing Math That Creates Decades

Heres how RICO sentences actualy get calculated.

The statutory maximum for RICO is 20 years per count – unless the underlying predicate offense carries a higher penalty, in which case that penalty applies. If any predicate involves murder, the maximum is life imprisonment.

But the sentencing guidelines create the real exposure. RICO is sentenced under Section 2E1.1, which starts with the offense level for the underlying racketeering activity. If the pattern involved fraud, you start with the fraud guideline. If it involved drugs, you start with the drug guideline. Then RICO-specific enhancements apply.

The median sentence for RICO convictions from 2018-2022 was 87 months – over 7 years. But that median hides enormous variation. In FY 2022, the median jumped to 120 months – 10 years. Cases involving violence routinely produce sentences of 15-25 years. Murder predicates result in mandatory life.

And RICO sentences can run consecutive to sentences for the predicate acts themselves. Courts have held that Congress authorized consecutive sentences for both the predicate offenses and the RICO violation built on those predicates. The same conduct gets punished multiple times.

The Famous Cases That Show What RICO Produces

Heres what RICO prosecution actualy looks like in practice.

The Mafia Commission Trial in 1985-1986 was RICO’s defining moment. Prosecutor Rudolph Giuliani used RICO to indict 11 organized crime figures, including the heads of New York’s Five Families. Eight were convicted. Most were sentenced to 100 years in prison – the maximum under RICO at the time. The case proved RICO could dismantle entire criminal organizations, not just individual criminals.

John Gotti, the infamous Gambino family boss, was convicted in 1992 of 13 counts including RICO based on murders, loan sharking, and gambling. Testimony from his underboss Sammy “The Bull” Gravano was central to the case. Gotti received life imprisonment and died in federal prison in 2002.

Young Thug and the YSL case in Georgia demonstrates how RICO is used today. The Atlanta rapper, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, was charged under Georgia’s state RICO statute for allegedly leading a violent street gang. The trial became Georgia’s longest criminal proceeding. In October 2024, Young Thug pled guilty and recieved 15 years probation – avoiding prison but accepting responsibility. Co-defendants recieved sentences ranging from aquital to decades in prison.

These cases show RICO’s range. Mafia bosses getting 100 years. Gang leaders pleading to probation. Everything in between. What they share is the overwhelming power of RICO charges to force resolution.

The Multi-Defendant Dynamic That Creates Pressure

Heres how RICO cases turn co-defendants against each other.

RICO investigations typicaly involve multiple defendants – 37% of RICO cases involve more then one person, with an average of 3 defendants per investigation. Some cases involve dozens. The YSL prosecution named 28 defendants. The Mafia Commission Trial charged 11.

This multi-defendant structure creates enormous pressure to cooperate. The first defendant to flip gets the best deal. Later cooperators have less to offer becuase the government already knows what they know. Defendants who wait to late find there testimony is worthless.

Prosecutors exploit this dynamic deliberately. They charge everyone they can connect to the enterprise. They make offers to the most culpable defendants in exchange for testimony against others. They create a race to cooperate were the losers face trial with there former associates testifying against them.

And heres the brutal math. A defendant facing RICO charges with a 97.5% conviction rate and potential decades of imprisonment has strong incentive to plead and cooperate. Even defendants who beleive there innocent often calculate that the risk of trial is to great. The system produces guilty pleas, not jury verdicts.

The Predicate Offenses That Expand Liability

Heres the list that makes almost any crime a potential RICO charge.

The 35 predicate offenses that can support RICO charges include:

State crimes: Murder, kidnapping, gambling, arson, robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter, dealing in controlled substances

Federal crimes: Bribery, sports bribery, counterfeiting, embezzlement from pension funds, extortionate credit transactions, fraud in foreign labor contracting, mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, financial institution fraud, citizenship fraud, passport fraud, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, money laundering, various drug offenses, human trafficking, sexual exploitation of children, and many others

The breadth of this list is intentional. Congress designed RICO to be flexible enough to address any form of organized criminal activity. But that flexibility means prosecutors can construct RICO theories from underlying conduct that might otherwise carry far lower penalties.

Two mail fraud convictions – each carrying 20-year maximum – become a RICO conspiracy with its own 20-year maximum plus forfeiture of everything connected to the enterprise. The same conduct, multiplied exposure.

The Questions You Should Be Asking

“I didnt run the operation” is the wrong response when facing RICO investigation.

The right questions are:

• What “enterprise” might prosecutors allege I was associated with?
• What two or more predicate acts could create a “pattern”?
• Even if I didnt commit crimes myself, did I agree to participate in something that involved others commiting crimes?
• What assets could be subject to forfeiture?
• Are co-defendants cooperating, and what are they saying about my role?

These questions lead to realistic exposure assesment. The “I was just a minor player” perspective ignores how RICO conspiracy actualy works – were agreement to participate creates full liability regardless of actual role.

RICO conspiracy that dosent require you to commit any crimes yourself. 97.5% conviction rate with median sentences of 87 months. Two acts in 10 years creating a “pattern.” Enterprise definition that includes any informal association. Civil forfeiture that seizes assets before conviction. DOJ approval process that means they’re already certain. Mafia Commission defendants getting 100 years each. Young Thug pleading to avoid decades. John Gotti dying in federal prison. This is federal RICO prosecution – were the enterprise can be any group, were conspiracy sweeps in everyone who agreed to participate, and were the government takes everything before proving anything. Thats the reality for anyone facing charges under 18 U.S.C. § 1962.