18 U.S.C. § 1962 — Prohibited activities

Page 487 TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE § 1962 SEPARABILITY Pub. L. 91–452, title XIII, § 1301, Oct. 15, 1970, 84 Stat. 962, provided that: ‘‘If the provisions of any part of this Act [see Short Title of 1970 Amendment note set out above] or the application thereof to any person or cir- cumstances be held invalid, the provisions of the other parts and their application to other persons or cir- cumstances shall not be affected thereby.’’ RULE OF CONSTRUCTION Nothing in amendment made by Pub. L. 117–159 to be construed to allow the establishment of a Federal sys- tem of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions or dispositions, see section 12004(k) of Pub. L. 117–159, set out as a note under sec- tion 922 of this title. CONGRESSIONAL STATEMENT OF FINDINGS AND PURPOSE Pub. L. 91–452, § 1, Oct. 15, 1970, 84 Stat. 922, provided in part that: ‘‘The Congress finds that (1) organized crime in the United States is a highly sophisticated, diversified, and widespread activity that annually drains billions of dollars from America’s economy by unlawful conduct and the illegal use of force, fraud, and corruption; (2) organized crime derives a major portion of its power through money obtained from such illegal endeavors as syndicated gambling, loan sharking, the theft and fenc- ing of property, the importation and distribution of narcotics and other dangerous drugs, and other forms of social exploitation; (3) this money and power are in- creasingly used to infiltrate and corrupt legitimate business and labor unions and to subvert and corrupt our democratic processes; (4) organized crime activities in the United States weaken the stability of the Na- tion’s economic system, harm innocent investors and competing organizations, interfere with free competi- tion, seriously burden interstate and foreign com- merce, threaten the domestic security, and undermine the general welfare of the Nation and its citizens; and (5) organized crime continues to grow because of de- fects in the evidence-gathering process of the law in- hibiting the development of the legally admissible evi- dence necessary to bring criminal and other sanctions or remedies to bear on the unlawful activities of those engaged in organized crime and because the sanctions and remedies available to the Government are unneces- sarily limited in scope and impact. ‘‘It is the purpose of this Act [see Short Title of 1970 Amendment note above] to seek the eradication of or- ganized crime in the United States by strengthening the legal tools in the evidence-gathering process, by es- tablishing new penal prohibitions, and by providing en- hanced sanctions and new remedies to deal with the un- lawful activities of those engaged in organized crime.’’ LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION OF PROVISIONS; SUPERSEDURE OF FEDERAL OR STATE LAWS; AUTHORITY OF ATTOR- NEYS REPRESENTING UNITED STATES Pub. L. 91–452, title IX, § 904, Oct. 15, 1970, 84 Stat. 947, provided that: ‘‘(a) The provisions of this title [enacting this chap- ter and amending sections 1505, 2516, and 2517 of this title] shall be liberally construed to effectuate its re- medial purposes. ‘‘(b) Nothing in this title shall supersede any provi- sion of Federal, State, or other law imposing criminal penalties or affording civil remedies in addition to those provided for in this title. ‘‘(c) Nothing contained in this title shall impair the authority of any attorney representing the United States to— ‘‘(1) lay before any grand jury impaneled by any district court of the United States any evidence con- cerning any alleged racketeering violation of law; ‘‘(2) invoke the power of any such court to compel the production of any evidence before any such grand jury; or ‘‘(3) institute any proceeding to enforce any order or process issued in execution of such power or to punish disobedience of any such order or process by any person.’’ PRESIDENT’S COMMISSION ON ORGANIZED CRIME; TAKING OF TESTIMONY AND RECEIPT OF EVIDENCE Pub. L. 98–368, July 17, 1984, 98 Stat. 490, provided for the Commission established by Ex. Ord. No. 12435, for- merly set out below, authority relating to taking of testimony, receipt of evidence, subpoena power, testi- mony of persons in custody, immunity, service of proc- ess, witness fees, access to other records and informa- tion, Federal protection for members and staff, closure of meetings, rules, and procedures, for the period of July 17, 1984, until the earlier of 2 years or the expira- tion of the Commission. Executive Documents EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 12435 Ex. Ord. No. 12435, July 28, 1983, 48 F.R. 34723, as amended Ex. Ord. No. 12507, Mar. 22, 1985, 50 F.R. 11835, which established and provided for the administration of the President’s Commission on Organized Crime, was revoked by Ex. Ord. No. 12610, Sept. 30, 1987, 52 F.R. 36901, formerly set out as a note under section 1013 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. § 1962. Prohibited activities (a) It shall be unlawful for any person who has received any income derived, directly or indi- rectly, from a pattern of racketeering activity or through collection of an unlawful debt in which such person has participated as a prin- cipal within the meaning of section 2, title 18, United States Code, to use or invest, directly or indirectly, any part of such income, or the pro- ceeds of such income, in acquisition of any in- terest in, or the establishment or operation of, any enterprise which is engaged in, or the ac- tivities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce. A purchase of securities on the open market for purposes of investment, and without the intention of controlling or participating in the control of the issuer, or of assisting another to do so, shall not be unlawful under this sub- section if the securities of the issuer held by the purchaser, the members of his immediate fam- ily, and his or their accomplices in any pattern or racketeering activity or the collection of an unlawful debt after such purchase do not amount in the aggregate to one percent of the outstanding securities of any one class, and do not confer, either in law or in fact, the power to elect one or more directors of the issuer. (b) It shall be unlawful for any person through a pattern of racketeering activity or through collection of an unlawful debt to acquire or maintain, directly or indirectly, any interest in or control of any enterprise which is engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce. (c) It shall be unlawful for any person em- ployed by or associated with any enterprise en- gaged in, or the activities of which affect, inter- state or foreign commerce, to conduct or par- ticipate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enterprise’s affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity or collection of unlawful debt. (d) It shall be unlawful for any person to con- spire to violate any of the provisions of sub- section (a), (b), or (c) of this section. Page 488 TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE § 1963 (Added Pub. L. 91–452, title IX, § 901(a), Oct. 15, 1970, 84 Stat. 942; amended Pub. L. 100–690, title VII, § 7033, Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4398.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1988—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 100–690 substituted ‘‘sub- section’’ for ‘‘subsections’’. § 1963. Criminal penalties (a) Whoever violates any provision of section 1962 of this chapter shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years (or for life if the violation is based on a racketeering activ- ity for which the maximum penalty includes life imprisonment), or both, and shall forfeit to the United States, irrespective of any provision of State law— (1) any interest the person has acquired or maintained in violation of section 1962; (2) any— (A) interest in; (B) security of; (C) claim against; or (D) property or contractual right of any kind affording a source of influence over; any enterprise which the person has estab- lished, operated, controlled, conducted, or par- ticipated in the conduct of, in violation of sec- tion 1962; and (3) any property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds which the person obtained, directly or indirectly, from racketeering ac- tivity or unlawful debt collection in violation of section 1962. The court, in imposing sentence on such person shall order, in addition to any other sentence imposed pursuant to this section, that the per- son forfeit to the United States all property de- scribed in this subsection. In lieu of a fine other- wise authorized by this section, a defendant who derives profits or other proceeds from an offense may be fined not more than twice the gross prof- its or other proceeds. (b) Property subject to criminal forfeiture under this section includes— (1) real property, including things growing on, affixed to, and found in land; and (2) tangible and intangible personal prop- erty, including rights, privileges, interests, claims, and securities. (c) All right, title, and interest in property de- scribed in subsection (a) vests in the United States upon the commission of the act giving rise to forfeiture under this section. Any such property that is subsequently transferred to a person other than the defendant may be the sub- ject of a special verdict of forfeiture and there- after shall be ordered forfeited to the United States, unless the transferee establishes in a hearing pursuant to subsection (l) that he is a bona fide purchaser for value of such property who at the time of purchase was reasonably without cause to believe that the property was subject to forfeiture under this section. (d)(1) Upon application of the United States, the court may enter a restraining order or in- junction, require the execution of a satisfactory performance bond, or take any other action to preserve the availability of property described in subsection (a) for forfeiture under this sec- tion— (A) upon the filing of an indictment or infor- mation charging a violation of section 1962 of this chapter and alleging that the property with respect to which the order is sought would, in the event of conviction, be subject to forfeiture under this section; or (B) prior to the filing of such an indictment or information, if, after notice to persons ap- pearing to have an interest in the property and opportunity for a hearing, the court deter- mines that— (i) there is a substantial probability that the United States will prevail on the issue of forfeiture and that failure to enter the order will result in the property being destroyed, removed from the jurisdiction of the court, or otherwise made unavailable for forfeiture; and (ii) the need to preserve the availability of the property through the entry of the re- quested order outweighs the hardship on any party against whom the order is to be en- tered: Provided, however, That an order entered pursu- ant to subparagraph (B) shall be effective for not more than ninety days, unless extended by the court for good cause shown or unless an indict- ment or information described in subparagraph (A) has been filed. (2) A temporary restraining order under this subsection may be entered upon application of the United States without notice or opportunity for a hearing when an information or indictment has not yet been filed with respect to the prop- erty, if the United States demonstrates that there is probable cause to believe that the prop- erty with respect to which the order is sought would, in the event of conviction, be subject to forfeiture under this section and that provision of notice will jeopardize the availability of the property for forfeiture. Such a temporary order shall expire not more than fourteen days after the date on which it is entered, unless extended for good cause shown or unless the party against whom it is entered consents to an extension for a longer period. A hearing requested concerning an order entered under this paragraph shall be held at the earliest possible time, and prior to the expiration of the temporary order. (3) The court may receive and consider, at a hearing held pursuant to this subsection, evi- dence and information that would be inadmis- sible under the Federal Rules of Evidence. (e) Upon conviction of a person under this sec- tion, the court shall enter a judgment of for- feiture of the property to the United States and shall also authorize the Attorney General to seize all property ordered forfeited upon such terms and conditions as the court shall deem proper. Following the entry of an order declar- ing the property forfeited, the court may, upon application of the United States, enter such ap- propriate restraining orders or injunctions, re- quire the execution of satisfactory performance bonds, appoint receivers, conservators, apprais- ers, accountants, or trustees, or take any other action to protect the interest of the United States in the property ordered forfeited. Any in-