What is a RICO Violation?

A RICO violation occurs when an individual or entity engages in a pattern of racketeering activity as part of an ongoing criminal enterprise. Originally enacted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act of 1970, this federal law was designed to combat organized crime by allowing prosecutors to charge both those who commit crimes and the leaders who order them.

Rudy Guiliani has claimed to be a pioneer in using the statute and it was certainly the approach he used to target the New York Mafia when he was a federal prosecutor.

The RICO statute is very nuanced and there are hundreds of federal cases which examine the elements of the crime and how they are proven.  Remember there is civil RICO where you get sued for huge sums of money and criminal RICO.

In a recent civil RICO case and arguably the most significant recent RICO decision -  is Medical Marijuana, Inc. v. Horn, 604 U.S. 593 (2025), decided by the Supreme Court in April 2025. The Court held that a civil RICO plaintiff need not allege a racketeering or RICO-type injury to recover under 18 U.S.C. § 1964(c); rather, all that is required is harm to the plaintiff's business or property resulting from the defendant's predicate acts.   In  Painters and Allied Trades District Council 82 Health Care Fund v. Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company Limited, 943 F.3d 1243 (2019), the Ninth Circuit addressed, as a matter of first impression, the element of proximate causation in civil RICO claims. The court held that health care fund plaintiffs plausibly alleged the required proximate cause linking the pharmaceutical defendants' alleged fraudulent conduct to the plaintiffs' economic injuries, even though the plaintiffs were not the direct targets of the fraud.

Criminal RICO is likewise nuanced and technical.  A big issue is always - what criminal conduct can be added to a RICO charge? Courts in the Northern District of California have addressed what conduct suffices to plead RICO predicate acts. In RJ v. Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, 625 F.Supp.3d 951 (2022), the court held that the plaintiffs plausibly alleged at least two predicate acts of mail and wire fraud—sufficient to establish a RICO pattern—and that the defendant acted with the specific intent to defraud required for those offense

Key Requirements for a RICO Charge

To establish a RICO violation, the government must prove four specific elements:

• The Enterprise: There must be an ongoing legal or illegal entity (such as a corporation, gang, or political group) that functions as a distinct unit.

• Affecting Interstate Commerce: The activities of the enterprise must have some impact on trade or travel between states.

• Pattern of Racketeering: The defendant must commit at least two "predicate acts" of racketeering within a 10-year period.

• Relationship and Continuity: The crimes must be related to one another (not random) and show a threat of continued criminal activity.

Common Predicate Acts

"Racketeering activity" covers a wide range of federal and state crimes, known as predicate acts. Common examples include:

• Financial Crimes: Bribery, counterfeiting, embezzlement, and money laundering.

• Violent Crimes: Murder, kidnapping, arson, and robbery.

• Obstruction: Witness tampering and obstruction of justice.

• Trade Crimes: Drug trafficking, human trafficking, and mail or wire fraud.

Civil vs. Criminal RICO

The "Kingpin" Factor: The most powerful aspect of RICO is that it eliminates the "defense of distance." A boss who never personally commits a robbery can still be convicted if they directed the enterprise that carried it out.

If this blog interests you an incredibly well written and detailed discussion of the RICO statute can be found here. In all honesty, a significant percentage of attorneys who do RICO work rely upon this publication to double check their work and to look for issues.  :]  

Statute of Limitations

RICO cases especially civil RICO cases (filed for money) often span years and have many different conduct elements.  For this reason the statute of limitations is a common defense to a RICO charge.  In a recent case the statute was.  From the case here are some of the facts.

"BAM Trading argues that all of Van Hees' claims except her RICO allegation are barred by statutes of limitations. The Court agrees.

“A claim may be dismissed as untimely pursuant to a 12(b)(6) motion ‘only when the running of the statute [of limitations] is apparent on the face of the complaint.’ ” U.S. ex rel. Air Control Technologies, Inc. v. Pre Con Indus., Inc., 720 F.3d 1174, 1178 (9th Cir. 2013) (quoting Von Saher v. Norton Simon Museum of Art at Pasadena, 592 F.3d 954, 969 (9th Cir.2010)). "

INGE VAN HEES, Plaintiff, v. BAM TRADING SERVICE, INC., Defendant. (N.D. Cal., Apr. 15, 2026, No. 25-CV-05685-JST) 2026 WL 1021125, at *2

The court found that the lawsuit did not plead an ongoing enterprise so each act had its own statute of limitations.

"Nor has she alleged that the enterprise was ongoing, given that the only predicate act she alleges in her complaint occurred one time over three years ago. ECF No. 1 at 13. Nor has she alleged how BAM Trading and Joseph “existed as an enterprise that “collectively functioned as a continuing unit, possessed any structure for making decisions on an on-going basis, or existed “independently from the alleged racketeering activity itself.” Phillips Soil Prods., Inc. v. Heintz, 2018 WL 2187442, at *6. Accordingly, the Court finds that Van Hees has failed to sufficiently allege a RICO enterprise."
INGE VAN HEES, Plaintiff, v. BAM TRADING SERVICE, INC., Defendant. (N.D. Cal., Apr. 15, 2026, No. 25-CV-05685-JST) 2026 WL 1021125, at *4

The RICO charges (civil) were thrown out.   Criminal RICO cases are usually more carefully pled but they to can be challenged as pleading separate acts not properly tied to an ongoing criminal enterprise.

For the Best RICO defense you need an expert motion attorney and trial attorney.  Call Daniel Horowitz for this "best defense" at 925-283-1863.