RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations)
Bondurant regularly engages in high-stakes litigation involving federal and state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) claims. We are frequently called upon to represent both plaintiffs and defendants in trial and appellate courts, routinely serving as lead counsel as well as co-counsel or consultants. The firm’s highly regarded RICO group includes John Floyd, one of the nation’s foremost RICO authorities, who authored the leading treatise on state RICO laws and regularly lectures and chairs seminars on litigation for lawyers in private practice and law enforcement.
In addition to representing private clients, Bondurant lawyers also assist Georgia prosecutors with complex RICO cases. Our work has included participating in the successful prosecutions of Atlanta Public School employees in one of the country’s largest test-cheating scandals, the former DeKalb County sheriff convicted of ordering his successor’s murder, and faculty members who embezzled millions from a medical school.
Representative Work
Obtained a temporary restraining order and order for accounting on behalf of a mining company whose property was being mined by another company.
Successfully defended a jury award for a chemical sales company in a civil RICO case, with the Georgia Supreme Court affirming, for the first time, that corporations can be sued under the Georgia RICO Act and that a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard applies.
Represented a class in a federal and Georgia RICO action involving the employment of illegal workers.
Represented victims of RICO and sex trafficking against hotel owners and franchisors.
Defeated, on appeal, a RICO claim against Georgia title pawn brokers in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Georgia.
Successfully defended the officers of a nursing home company against fraud and racketeering claims brought by directors and shareholders seeking more than $370 million.
Represented a defendant accused of participating in a commercial fraud ring, settling the case on favorable terms to our client and re-establishing a business relationship between the defendant and the plaintiff company.
Acted as co-counsel in the defense of a subsidiary of a Fortune 500 corporation during a RICO prosecution by a midwestern district attorney’s office.
Helped convict eleven teachers and administrators of Georgia RICO conspiracy in the longest criminal trial in Georgia history.
Helped convict the former sheriff of DeKalb County, who was found guilty of ordering the murder of his elected successor, and successfully defended the conviction in the Georgia Supreme Court.
Helped convict two faculty members at The Medical College of Georgia who stole over $10 million in research funds, recovering over 99% of the stolen funds.
