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The Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) is a powerful tool for fighting fraud and corruption, which has been applied to numerous forms of corporate misconduct. Under the law, wrongdoers who engage in a pattern of racketeering activity can face criminal charges and civil liability including treble damages and attorney’s fees. RICO, however, is a highly complex area of the law, and requires skilled counsel to implement successfully.

Getnick Law’s RICO Experience

Getnick Law has extensive RICO litigation experience. We filed the first civil RICO class action in the United States, conducted litigation that has led to parallel criminal RICO prosecutions, and have secured significant settlements for clients based on our RICO work. Our cases have covered a wide range of industry fraud, including: insurance, computers, construction, and banking and investment.

Insurance Fraud

Getnick Law, together with co-counsel, and on behalf of a consortium of insurance companies, filed a civil RICO action that exposed the activities of a group of attorneys estimated to have cost the insurance industry up to $200 million dollars in fraudulent billings.

Getnick Law’s work led to a parallel criminal RICO prosecution by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California that resulted in convictions, restitution orders, and civil settlements. The case was reported on in Forbes.

Computer Industry Fraud

A Fortune 250 computer company retained Getnick Law to investigate trafficking in stolen mainframe computers and computer parts. After Getnick Law successfully identified the traffickers, which led to a civil settlement and criminal indictment, The New York Times described the case as “a real life ‘Mission: Impossible’ in the heart of Silicon Valley.”

Civil RICO litigation initiated by Getnick Law resulted in a swift settlement against the defendants including financial recovery, cooperation in ongoing civil and criminal proceedings, dissolution of the offending company, and a lifetime bar from employment in the computer and its related industries. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California, prosecuted a criminal RICO indictment against the principal defendants, three of whom pleaded guilty.

Construction Industry Fraud

The New York City School Construction Authority (SCA) Office of Inspector General has retained Getnick Law to conduct litigation against contractors engaged in fraudulent activity against the SCA. This included a parallel civil RICO lawsuit against an asbestos abatement company alleged to have defrauded the SCA, resulting in a multi-million dollar consent judgment.

Embezzlement

Getnick Law was retained by the president of a California-based corporation to investigate the embezzlement of funds by the corporation’s Controller. An investigation, and ultimate litigation, were conducted in coordination with the FBI and the local U.S. Attorney’s Office. Our efforts led to the criminal conviction of the Controller and a $40 million civil RICO judgment in favor of the corporation.

Investment Fraud

Getnick Law, together with co-counsel, conducted two complex civil RICO litigations stemming from banking and investment fraud and related money laundering.

The first case, growing out of a Ponzi scheme, was the first civil RICO class action filed in the United States and resulted in a multi-million dollar settlement for the investor victim class. Parallel criminal cases were prosecuted in the Southern District of New York and New York State Supreme Court, resulting in the main perpetrator’s conviction and imprisonment.

The second case resulted from a complex banking and investment fraud and money laundering scheme perpetrated by a former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and others. The former official and his key co-conspirators were convicted in the Southern District of New York. Judgments exceeding $2 million dollars were obtained against key defendants in the civil case.