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@article{209640,
        author = {Mohan Sanjay Wakhare and Dr. Shivanjali Bhoite},
        title = {Forum Posts and Predicate Acts: Testing the Racketeering Statute Against Online Criminal Networks},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {13},
        number = {5},
        pages = {2859-2864},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=209640},
        abstract = {The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act was drafted in 1970 with the American mafia in view, yet prosecutors now invoke it against groups that look nothing like a crime family: dispersed, pseudonymous, and held together by a web forum rather than a boss and a neighbourhood. This paper asks whether the statute can carry that weight. It argues that the enterprise element, often assumed to be the obstacle, is in fact the easiest to satisfy, because an association-in-fact needs no hierarchy and online networks readily show shared purpose, working relationships, and longevity. The genuine pressure points lie elsewhere: a closed list of predicate offences that omits the principal computer-intrusion statute; continuity doctrine strained by crews that rebrand every few months; the separate inquiries into domestic conduct and domestic injury; proximate-cause limits on civil plaintiffs; and forfeiture rules written for physical assets. Drawing on the Infraud Organization prosecution, the Supreme Court’s racketeering decisions, and comparative treaty and statutory models, the paper concludes that RICO remains a workable instrument against cybercriminal networks, provided Congress closes the predicate gap, prosecutors keep exercising restraint, and courts hold the domestic-conduct inquiry to a disciplined standard.},
        keywords = {The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act was drafted in 1970 with the American mafia in view, yet prosecutors now invoke it against groups that look nothing like a crime family: dispersed, pseudonymous, and held together by a web forum rather than a boss and a neighbourhood. This paper asks whether the statute can carry that weight. It argues that the enterprise element, often assumed to be the obstacle, is in fact the easiest to satisfy, because an association-in-fact needs no hierarchy and online networks readily show shared purpose, working relationships, and longevity. The genuine pressure points lie elsewhere: a closed list of predicate offences that omits the principal computer-intrusion statute; continuity doctrine strained by crews that rebrand every few months; the separate inquiries into domestic conduct and domestic injury; proximate-cause limits on civil plaintiffs; and forfeiture rules written for physical assets. Drawing on the Infraud Organization prosecution, the Supreme Court’s racketeering decisions, and comparative treaty and statutory models, the paper concludes that RICO remains a workable instrument against cybercriminal networks, provided Congress closes the predicate gap, prosecutors keep exercising restraint, and courts hold the domestic-conduct inquiry to a disciplined standard.},
        month = {October},
        }