Charged Under 18 U.S.C. § 1962: What Happens Next

A racketeering charge usually arrives with company. Arrests are made across several places on the same morning, the charging document names people the client has never met, and the allegations reach back over a long period. The scale is disorienting, and it obscures the fact that the sequence which follows is orderly and largely predictable.

What follows describes that sequence and the points within it where decisions are actually made. If you or a family member has been charged under 18 U.S.C. § 1962, call Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. at (888) 437-7747 to request a consultation.

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Arrest, Initial Appearance, and Detention

An arrest is followed by an initial appearance before a magistrate judge, where the charge is stated, counsel is addressed, and the question of release is raised. In racketeering cases the government commonly seeks detention, relying on the enterprise allegations rather than on anything specific to the individual. That is the first place where the difference between a client and his co-defendants has to be made concrete.

A detention hearing is an evidentiary proceeding, and preparation for it is what determines the outcome: verified employment, a stable residence, family members willing to act as sureties, and a conditions package the court can supervise. Detention decisions made early are difficult to revisit, and a defendant preparing his case from custody is at a real disadvantage.

Arraignment and the Schedule

Arraignment follows, with entry of a plea and the setting of a schedule. In a multi-defendant racketeering case the schedule is the thing to watch. Complex case designations, continuances sought by co-defendants, and the sequencing of motions all affect how much time the defense actually has, and a client whose interests differ from those of his co-defendants may want a different schedule than the group.

The court in the Eastern District of Virginia sets and keeps firm dates. Work that is deferred in the expectation of a later continuance is often work that never gets done.

Discovery

Discovery in a racketeering prosecution is large and arrives in stages. It typically includes intercepted communications, extractions from seized devices, financial records, surveillance materials, and reports of interviews with cooperating witnesses. Material favorable to the defense, and material bearing on the credibility of government witnesses, is disclosed under separate obligations and on a different timetable.

The organizing task is to match each alleged predicate act against the evidence said to support it, and to identify which allegations rest on a single witness. That exercise produces the motions, the cross-examination, and the realistic assessment of the case, in that order.

Motions

Motion practice in these cases falls into recognizable groups. Motions directed at the charging document ask the court to require the government to identify the enterprise and the acts relied on. Suppression motions address interceptions, searches of homes, businesses and devices, and statements taken from the defendant. Severance motions ask that a client not be tried alongside allegations that have nothing to do with him. Motions in limine address the admissibility of the enterprise narrative itself.

These are filed on the schedule of the court, and the record made in them shapes what an appellate court can later consider.

Resolution

Cases resolve by trial or by agreement, and the choice is made once the evidence has been tested rather than at the outset. A negotiated resolution in a racketeering case turns on which predicate acts survive, whether the enterprise theory holds, what conduct will be attributed at sentencing, and what forfeiture is sought. Those are the terms that matter, and they are not visible from the charging document.

No lawyer can promise an outcome. What a defendant is entitled to is an accurate picture before he decides, and the work that produces it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why am I charged with things other people did?

Because the statute reaches participation in the affairs of an enterprise, and its conspiracy provision reaches agreement that others would commit the racketeering acts. That does not make the allegations automatic. The government still has to prove what this defendant did or agreed to, and separating a client from the conduct of others is a large part of the defense.

Can I get released while the case is pending?

It depends on the individual showing made at the detention hearing rather than on the label attached to the charge. Verified employment, community ties, a proposed residence, willing sureties, and a supervision package are what the court weighs. Preparation matters because the hearing happens quickly and the decision is hard to change later.

How long will the case take?

Longer than an ordinary federal case, because of the volume of discovery and the number of defendants. Any figure would be a guess, and this page does not offer one. Your lawyer can describe the schedule actually set in your case once the court has entered it.

Should I talk to the government?

That is a decision to make with counsel, after the discovery has been examined, and never in an unprotected setting. Any discussion should occur under a written agreement whose terms have been read carefully, because such agreements limit the use of statements in some ways and not in others. The consequences reach beyond the case itself.

What happens to my house and my bank accounts?

A racketeering indictment ordinarily includes a forfeiture allegation, and assets may be restrained before trial. That is litigated separately from guilt. Property not traceable to the alleged conduct, property held by others, and property acquired before the alleged pattern began can be challenged, and doing so requires a complete account of what is owned and how it was acquired.

What is a bill of particulars and why does it matter?

It is a request asking the court to require the government to state its case more precisely: which enterprise is alleged, which acts are relied on as predicates, and what this defendant is said to have done. A racketeering charging document is often written broadly, and pinning it down early narrows what the defense has to meet and makes the jury instructions easier to frame later.

Will I be tried with everyone else?

Often, unless severance is granted. A racketeering indictment is built to try people together, which is why severance motions matter here more than in most cases. Where the allegations against a client are far less serious than those against his co-defendants, or where the proof shows separate arrangements rather than one enterprise, severance is the remedy sought.

Working With Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C.

The first weeks of a racketeering case set its direction: the detention posture, the request for particulars, the mapping of each alleged act to its evidence, and an early account of how this client differs from the caption of the case.

Mr. Sris, Owner and Founder of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., is a former prosecutor and is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York. The firm has been practicing since 1997. Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys handle criminal defense matters across those jurisdictions, which matters in federal practice because a single investigation frequently reaches conduct, witnesses, and records in more than one state. Mr. Sris brings a background in accounting and information systems from George Mason University, applied to complex financial and technology-related cases.

The firm serves Northern Virginia from 1655 Fort Myer Dr, Suite 700, Room 719, Arlington, VA 22209 and central Virginia from 7400 Beaufont Springs Drive, Suite 300, Room 395, Richmond, VA 23225. By appointment. Call (888) 437-7747 to schedule. Request a consultation. Reach our location at (888) 437-7747.

This page provides general information about federal racketeering charges under 18 U.S.C. § 1962 and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Case results depend on a variety of factors unique to each case. Results may vary.

Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Attorney responsible for this advertising: Mr. Sris.