Q: What is the most common scenario in a Civil RICO case?
A: Someone is getting cheated or defrauded by a person who typically uses the U.S. Mail or interstate wire transmissions, that is, by telephone, fax, or e-mail.

Q: What are the damages that can be awarded?
A: Damages caused by the misconduct; treble damages; punitive damages; attorney fees and expenses of litigation.

Q: What does RICO mean?
A: It is an acronym for the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act, a federal statute. There is also a Georgia RICO act. Both RICO acts prohibit certain types of criminal activity. The most common is wire fraud and mail fraud. A civil RICO case is one that is brought under the portion of the RICO act that allows a victim to sue for the damages mentioned above against the wrongdoer.

Q: How will I know if I have a civil RICO case?
A: You need to bring all of your documentation on the transaction involved or series of transactions, in for legal consultation and review. Not every type of wrongdoing violates the RICO act. However, as discussed above there are powerful remedies if the RICO act has been violated.

Q: Do I have to choose between the RICO act and some other civil remedy?
A: No. The remedies under civil RICO are cumulative, which means that you can pursue both remedies and if you prevail on both, you may have to choose at the end of the case.

Q: How will the attorney fee be determined?
A: There are three ways of setting the attorney fee in this type of case: (1) a normal contingency fee, in which a percentage is taken out of the money received through settlement or collection of the verdict, plus reimbursement of litigation expenses and costs; (2) a normal hourly rate, plus reimbursement of litigation expenses and costs; (3) a blend of a reduced hourly rate and a reduced contingency fee, plus reimbursement of litigation expenses and costs. Which of these is used is determined after consultation in the office with the attorney.