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 Originally enacted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act of 1970, this federal law was designed to combat organized crime by allowing prosecutors to charge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.  :]  

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.