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New York Penal Law 460.22: Aggravated enterprise corruption
One of the most concerning ask in new York is organized crime. While most people think of mobsters when it comes to organized crime, there are actually a lot of different types of organized crime to be concerned of. To help control and prevent different types of organized crime, the New York penal code has several different laws that make it illegal. One of the most significant loss is aggravated enterprise corruption.
To be convicted and charged of aggravated enterprise corruption, you must be proven of committing one of several different crimes. One crime would be if you were to intentionally participate in organized criminal activity or if you were to participate in a criminal activity that then invested the proceeds of the criminal activity into a business or other venture. Furthermore, in order to be charged with the crime, you must have committed it twice within five years.
Examples of the Crime
There are a lot of different examples of aggravated enterprise corruption. One of the more common, and noteworthy, types of crimes that fall into this bucket involve financial crimes. If someone works for an investment fund and takes money from investors, they are required by law to provide accurate books and records and to only use funds in a legal manner.
If the investor ends up taking money out of the fund illegally, or providing illegal reports to the investors, it could be considered aggravated enterprise corruption. Furthermore, while the heads of the fund will be arrested for the crime, anyone that worked for the company and had knowledge of the illegal activity could also be arrested for the crime.
Defenses to the Crime
If you are charged with aggravated enterprise corruption, hiring a defense attorney is a practical necessity. One of the main advantages that defenses have when it comes to defending against aggravated enterprise corruption is the overall complexity of the crime.
In order for you to be convicted of the crime, the defense will have to be able to prove all parts of the crime. This can include the initial criminal activities that take place, the amount of money that was acquired illegally, and your intent to commit the crime in an organized fashion. Due to this level of detail, the prosecution has likely spent a long time following the case. The defense attorney will likely attempt to negotiate down to a lower crime, which could result in a much lower sentence.
Penalties of the Crime
Due to the severity of aggravated enterprise corruption, there are very severe penalties that go along with it. The crime is technically a Class A-1 penalty, which means that a judge could provide you with a lifetime sentence. Furthermore, you will receive significant financial penalties and could be required to make a lot of restitution after your prison sentence is over.
In many cases, depending on your involvement in the crime, the sentence could be much lighter. Those that do not have a criminal record, and were not considered leaders of the crime, will likely have sentences that are less than 10 years.
In conclusion, aggravated enterprise corruption is a very serious crime that can come with a lifetime sentence in prison. Since it is such a serious crime, and can be difficult to understand and litigate, hiring an attorney is a necessity. The attorney should be able to help you by plea bargaining down to a lower charge and could help to negotiate a shorter prison sentence.