To be charged with organizing or participating in a criminal enterprise can be very overwhelming, intimidating, and confusing, especially if you have no knowledge of being part of such an organization that commits criminal acts. Criminal enterprises, sometimes referred to as organized crime, is a serious state or federal crime. This is a charge that should be addressed immediately by a lawyer that has experience in this area.
Definition of Criminal Enterprises
Although criminal enterprises and organized crime are practically synonymous, there are certain statutes that relate specifically to criminal enterprises. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a criminal enterprise is defined “as a group of individuals with an identified hierarchy, or comparable structure, engaged in significant criminal activity.”
This criminal activity may include various offenses, such as the following:
- Bank fraud
- Counterfeiting
- Drug trafficking
- Human trafficking
- Embezzlement
- Smuggling
- Money laundering
Such a group, or organization, often engages in multiple criminal activities and has extensive supporting networks. For a person to be convicted of a criminal enterprise crime, all aspects of a criminal enterprise as established by criminal statutes must be proven.
Two such statutes include the Continuing Criminal Enterprise statute and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute:
- RICO: Under the RICO Act, an enterprise is defined as “any individual, corporation, partnership, association or other legal entity, and any group or union of individuals associated in fact though not a legal entity.”
- Continuing Criminal Enterprise: A criminal enterprise, as defined by the Continuing Criminal Enterprise statute, is any group of at least six persons, where one of the six holds the position of a leader, organizer, manager, or any other supervisory position with respect to the other five, and which generates significant resources or income, and continues to violate laws set forth in subchapters I and II, Chapter 13, Title 21 of the U.S. Code.