RICO the NGOs
Make them pay or it will happen again.
As disclosures emerged over the last month about the web of payments flowing through byzantine corporate structures housed in and around Washington D.C.’s NGO Industrial Complex, my first reaction was, “that looks like money laundering”. After reflecting on it and digging deeper, I’ve come to believe it isn’t “like” money laundering – it “is” money laundering. Zooming out, as you will see below, I believe there exist all of the elements necessary to bring Racketeering (RICO) charges against a large number of individuals and organizations. There is either no crime here or an enormous crime. Do we look it in the eye and name it, or sweep it under the rug and pretend it never happened?
If you think this isn’t important, or that white collar crime doesn’t apply to certain groups of people or certain types of activities that otherwise meet all the definitions of ‘illegal” it might be worth stopping to ponder how you got to that position and what the implications of this belief system are. I think the implications of that belief system are exactly what we are seeing now. Any group of people who believe themselves to be above the law will very quickly begin breaking the law, with the best intentions of course.
[All block quotes below are cut and paste from my research assistant/ paralegal: ChatGPT.]
What is RICO?
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) was enacted as Title IX of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 and signed into law by President Richard Nixon on October 15, 1970. It was primarily designed to combat organized crime, particularly the Mafia, but has since been applied to a wide range of criminal enterprises.
In essence, various branches of law enforcement and the legislature “knew” that “the mafia” was a criminal enterprise, but the mafia had cleverly arranged their activities to avoid being prosecuted as a group or cohesive entity. Thus, new laws were written that allowed law enforcement to say “it doesn’t matter if you aren’t all incorporated together in an official corporation or on the member rolls of a distinct club – if we can prove you were loosely working together to do illegal things, you will be prosecuted as a group with culpability for the actions of the group.”
What is a Racket?
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), defines it as a pattern of illegal activity—such as money laundering, embezzlement, drug trafficking, or violent crimes—carried out by an enterprise.
A racket is a fraudulent or criminal scheme, such as:
Extortion: Forcing payments through threats or violence.
Bribery: Offering money or favors to influence decisions.
Money Laundering: Concealing illegal income.
Fraud: Deceptive practices for financial gain.
The italics above were added by me. We can’t immediately dismiss what has been discovered so far in the NGO Industrial Complex as “not embezzlement” or “not money laundering”, so RICO is still in play.
Key questions:
Was the money disbursed by the government disbursed correctly to qualified recipients (NGO #1 in this example) via the “correct” processes? If no – this may be embezzlement by the government employee.
Was the money distributed by NGO #1 done so directly for the purpose intended without diverting any of the funds to friends, family, or co-conspirators in other organizations? If no – this may be embezzlement by NGO #1.
Was this money sent through a complex process of layering transactions that eventually resulted in the material gain of valuable assets by either the government employee, the NGO #1 employee(s) or employees of other NGOs who did this same thing in reverse, sending money to NGO #1 that had been distributed elsewhere in the system by the Government? If so – this feels a lot like embezzlement + money laundering.
Here is a handy infographic on the steps of money laundering:
Just replace “Drug Exchange” in the first column with “Embezzlement”, and you have the NGO complex described so far.
Here is an example “Charity Graph” from the “Data Republican”. This is what happens to money given from the U.S. Government to NGOs before any service is delivered to intended recipients. I can’t imagine the diagram of a money laundering operation looking much different.
Source: https://datarepublican.com/expose/
What Elements are Required to Prosecute RICO?
For charges to be filed under racketeering laws, particularly under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in the U.S., several key elements must be present:
Existence of an Enterprise
There must be an organization, group, or entity that functions as an enterprise.
The enterprise can be a formal entity (such as a corporation or gang) or an informal association of individuals working together for criminal purposes.
Pattern of Racketeering Activity
Prosecutors must prove that the defendant engaged in at least two qualifying criminal acts ("predicate offenses") within a 10-year period.
These acts must be related (not isolated incidents) and demonstrate a pattern of ongoing criminal behavior.
Connection to the Enterprise
The defendant must have directly or indirectly participated in the affairs of the enterprise.
This means either being part of the organization or assisting it in carrying out illegal activities.
Commission of Predicate Offenses
The criminal acts must be from a list of qualifying offenses under RICO law, such as:
Fraud (mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud)
Extortion (blackmail, bribery)
Money laundering
Drug trafficking
Murder, kidnapping, arson
Gambling, counterfeiting, embezzlement
Obstruction of justice, witness tampering
Human trafficking, smuggling
Interstate or Foreign Commerce Impact
The criminal activities must have some effect on interstate or foreign commerce (e.g., using mail, wire transfers, or interstate travel to facilitate crimes).
This is what gives federal jurisdiction in many RICO cases.
Intent
The prosecution must show that the individual or organization knowingly and willingly participated in the criminal enterprise.
[Again – Italics above are mine.]
None of these six elements appear to be stumbling blocks so far. That’s the beauty of RICO. It was designed to catch tricky crooks who were loosely affiliated. That’s D.C. in a nutshell for most people, but the example we dive into below is very specific and may be a winner.
“An informal entity working together for an illegal purpose” – that sounds ominous. Before this latest definition we have been focused on people or organizations “skimming off the top” as it were. If each hop in this money laundering only skims 10% off the top, it still ensures that a large portion of government funds stay in DC as ill-gotten gains for insiders. Maybe embezzlement isn’t the right term. Maybe it’s fraud. Has any of this money ever been wired for a fraudulent use? Wire Fraud. That seems to be an illegal purpose and bad enough. But something interesting has now entered the equation.
What if beyond skimming off the top – the actual activity eventually being funded/performed was illegal? Look at the last item in the list of “qualifying offenses again. “Human trafficking, Smuggling.” This is the easiest example to pick on, and boy is it a doozy. What if, over a four-year period, millions of illegal immigrants were “human trafficked” or “smuggled” into the United States with the help of the NGO Industrial Complex? Almost one year ago exactly, I wrote about a shocking (and somewhat hard to believe at the time) podcast from Bret Weinstein which strongly suggested that the massive flow of illegal immigrants through a dangerous section of Panama was being funded by US NGOs: The Darien Gap. We now know where some of that funding may have come from…U.S. NGOs funded by USAID. A Presidential Administration choosing to not enforce certain immigration laws strenuously is one thing. Actively funding organizations designed with an intent to break those laws is another thing entirely. This isn’t negligence, it’s criminal activity.
Additions to our key questions from this layman:
4. Did the government employee(s) know that they were funding illegal activity when they were disbursing these funds? If yes – they are part of the racket.
5. Did the NGOs know that they were aiding and abetting illegal activity, (human trafficking/smuggling), as a direct result of their activity? If yes, they are part of the racket. If no, they may still be part of the racket via waste, fraud and abuse. Sending the money to illegal enterprises instead of where it was supposed to go has to trip a ton of statutes of various other laws regarding government contracting.
6. Via RICO, is everyone in this web of money layering and flows complicit in this crime(s)? I really don’t know, but man – get a lawyer.
How is RICO prosecuted and what are the consequences?
Criminal vs. Civil RICO: The government can bring criminal charges (which can lead to imprisonment) or civil lawsuits (which can result in financial penalties).
Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering: Even if someone didn’t directly commit the crimes, they can be charged if they conspired to further the criminal enterprise.
Forfeiture of Assets: If convicted, defendants often face seizure of assets tied to criminal activity.
Potential Penalties
Up to 20 years per RICO violation (or life if the crime involves murder).
Fines and asset forfeiture (to dismantle the criminal enterprise).
Civil lawsuits, allowing victims to sue for triple damages.
RICO is a powerful legal tool used against organized crime, corrupt businesses, street gangs, and even political corruption cases.
So perpetrators can be prosecuted by the government in either criminal or civil cases. AND the government can seize assets in addition to fines. I’m not a fan of how civil asset forfeiture works via a construct that seems to be “guilty until proven innocent” whether de facto or de jure in many cases, but once a conviction has occurred, this makes all the sense in the world to me. We can get some of the money back, and most importantly we can clearly signal to all that this is a terrible life plan. Do not organize your existence around siphoning off money from the government. You will not get to keep your ill-gotten gains. If I was in charge of the universe, decision makers would go to jail and mere beneficiaries would lose all of their assets + be banned from ever working with government contracting in any form ever again. (Somewhat like individuals can be banned from being officers in publicly traded companies after being found guilty of certain crimes.)
If the chain of events and logic in this piece is correct so far, some people need to go to jail, and there is a clear, legal mechanism for enforcing this. (RICO has been used multiple times against politicians, mainly in bribery cases, over the last several decades. Consult your own LLM for examples.)
I sure hope the government goes down this path, but there is something interesting in that last bullet “allowing victims to sue for triple damages”. Does this mean what I think it means?
Can Civilians File RICO Cases?
Yes. Yes they can.
Yes, civilians can file suit under RICO in civil court if they have been harmed by a pattern of racketeering activity. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1964(c), private individuals and businesses can bring a civil RICO lawsuit against persons or organizations that have engaged in racketeering activities that caused them financial harm.
Requirements for a Civil RICO Case
To successfully bring a civil RICO claim, a plaintiff must prove the following elements:
Existence of an Enterprise
The defendant must be part of an organization, group, or business entity engaged in criminal activity.
The enterprise can be formal (a corporation, gang, or cartel) or informal (a loosely associated group of people committing illegal acts).
Pattern of Racketeering Activity
The defendant must have committed at least two qualifying predicate offenses within a 10-year period.
Predicate offenses include fraud, extortion, bribery, money laundering, drug trafficking, and other crimes listed under 18 U.S.C. § 1961(1).
Injury to Business or Property
The plaintiff must show that they suffered a direct financial loss due to the defendant’s illegal activities.
Examples of harm:
Loss of money or property due to fraud or extortion.
A business being forced into bankruptcy due to criminal actions.
Harm from a corrupt scheme (e.g., real estate fraud, investment scams).
Causal Connection
The racketeering activity must be the proximate cause of the plaintiff's financial injury.
A direct link between the criminal conduct and the financial harm must be shown.
Why Civil RICO is Powerful
Treble (Triple) Damages: If successful, plaintiffs can recover three times their actual damages.
Attorney’s Fees Paid by Defendant: The losing defendant must pay the plaintiff’s legal fees, making lawsuits more financially feasible for victims.
Injunctions & Asset Seizures: Courts can freeze assets and stop illegal business practices.
I am not a lawyer! This is not legal advice! But wow. An extensive web of activity has been exposed with a tremendous amount of publicly available data. Do you own a business that has been harmed by illegal immigration? Have you lost property or a loved one due to crime committed by illegal immigration? Was there a conspiracy to embezzle government funds to illegally aid and abet the flow of those immigrants into this country?
This sounds like a very expensive proposition to undertake. Plaintiffs would be going up against well-funded individuals and organizations, (often mainly staffed with lawyers!). This would be proverbial David vs. Goliath and plaintiffs should expect to lose all money spent in this effort with nothing to show for it. However – “Attorney’s Fees Paid by Defendant” is interesting. Defense attorneys may be concerned about ever getting paid if their clients also have to pay the lawyers for the plaintiff. “Treble (Triple) Damages” is interesting. In some cases – these could be huge amounts. All of the advantages aren’t with the defendants.
I’m even farther out on a limb here now in predicting the future, but how this type of effort would most likely be effective is a pooling of plaintiff’s resources into deep-pocketed prosecutions of high-profile, easy to understand cases. The Laken Riley case just keeps bubbling up to the top of my mind here. Was her killer illegally brought to the U.S. by this NGO Industrial Complex with American taxpayer dollars? I will donate to a legal crowd-funding effort tomorrow to try to bring to justice those silent accomplices who facilitated her killer and personally profited off the enterprise. Again – just as important, the signal must be Never Again.
Conversely, from the government side of this, I fear the “one big case that takes ten years to litigate” syndrome. Multiple actions against multiple actors in multiple venues, moving-at-speed is critical. It needs to be a multi-front war that spreads defenses thin. For once, the power of government can be used to shrink the size of government – use all the tools.
To sum up this piece – we don’t need vigilante justice to address the incredible corruption being unearthed right now in Washington D.C. There are legal tools available to both the government and individual citizens if we have the courage and dedication to use them. Enron was famously prosecuted using RICO and was bankrupted as a result. We should bankrupt the NGO Industrial Complex.