Racketeering - RICO

Have You Been Charged with Racketeering in the San Francisco Bay Area Courts?

The consequences of Racketeering charges could be very serious as each involved individual in the case could be facing 10 years in prison. 

 Need an experienced Criminal Defense Attorney?

If you are involved in a racketeering case, an experienced criminal defense lawyer will be able to assist you in determining the proper steps to follow.

What are Federal Racketeering (RICO) Charges?

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) provides state and federal prosecutors with a way to combine diverse and seemingly unrelated crimes into a single serious charge. The RICO act gives the federal government tremendous powers to go after alleged racketeering.

When criminal charges are prosecuted under RICO, the accused faces far more serious consequences than otherwise. When a prosecutor combines the charges into one RICO case against a group of individuals, and alleges they are acting as an illegal enterprise, each individual is now at risk of serving more than ten years in prison. These trials are long and complex, more evidence is assembled against the accused than in other cases, and the cases often are prosecuted by teams with the backing of powerful state and federal agencies.

Current use of racketeering charges has expanded beyond that of traditional RICO cases. The original intent of RICO was to help in the investigation and prosecution of organized crime. In addition to broad application of the racketeering act, prosecutors are increasingly likely to include federal conspiracy charges in a case, again increasing the complexity of the case and the consequences of conviction.

The Walia Law Firm represents clients accused of crimes in San Francisco and all parts of the greater Bay Area.