Texas does not have a statute called RICO, but it prosecutes the same conduct under Penal Code Section 71.02, Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity. The Texas RICO statute, as practitioners often call it, punishes a qualifying crime committed as part of a group of three or more people (a “combination”) or as a member of a criminal street gang, and it automatically increases the punishment one felony grade above what the underlying crime would otherwise carry.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 71.02 – Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity
That one-grade bump is the entire point of the charge. A state jail felony becomes a third-degree felony. A second-degree becomes a first. A first-degree stays at first-degree in name but the minimum sentence jumps from five years to fifteen. Prosecutors know this, and they use the enhancement as leverage long before trial.
What the State Has to Prove
Two things have to line up for an organized criminal activity conviction. First, you committed (or attempted) one of the specific crimes listed in Section 71.02. Second, you did it “with the intent to establish, maintain, or participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination.”1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 71.02 – Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity The statute also covers conduct committed as a member of a criminal street gang or a foreign terrorist organization, which are defined separately from a combination.
A combination means three or more people who collaborate in carrying on criminal activities.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 71.01 – Definitions That threshold is higher than ordinary conspiracy, which needs only two. Members do not have to know each other personally, the group’s membership can shift over time, and the relationship can be as loose as a wholesaler and a retailer in a distribution chain.
The intent element is where cases get fought. Proving the underlying crime is usually the easy part. Proving that you were acting to further a group’s operations, rather than committing a crime that happened to involve other people, takes a different kind of evidence: coordinated communications, shared cash flow, assigned roles, a pattern of joint activity. Someone who commits a robbery alone and happens to know gang members is in a very different position than someone whose robbery was one of a planned series run by a group.
Crimes That Can Trigger the Charge
The enhancement does not attach to every offense. If the underlying conduct is not on the Section 71.02 list, the organized crime charge fails no matter how many people were involved. The qualifying offenses include:
- Violent crimes: murder, capital murder, aggravated robbery, robbery, aggravated kidnapping, kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, deadly conduct, and assault punishable as a Class A misdemeanor.
- Property crimes: theft, arson, burglary, burglary of a motor vehicle, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and forgery.
- Drug offenses: unlawful manufacture, delivery, or distribution of controlled substances or dangerous drugs, including obtaining them by fraud or forgery.
- Trafficking and exploitation: any offense under Chapter 20A (human trafficking), continuous sexual abuse of a young child or disabled individual, and solicitation of a minor.
- Weapons offenses: unlawful manufacture, transportation, repair, or sale of firearms or prohibited weapons.
- White-collar crimes: any felony under Chapter 32 (fraud), offenses under Chapters 34, 35, and 35A (money laundering, insurance fraud, Medicaid fraud), and any felony under the Tax Code.
- Gambling offenses punishable as a Class A misdemeanor.
- Promotion of prostitution, aggravated promotion of prostitution, and compelling prostitution.
The list reaches both traditional organized crime and sophisticated financial crime. A three-person insurance fraud scheme and a street gang distribution ring both face the same grade bump.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 71.02 – Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity
What the Sentence Actually Becomes
The enhancement applies whether the underlying crime was completed or attempted, and it moves the punishment up one grade:
- A state jail felony becomes a third-degree felony. Maximum incarceration jumps from 2 years in a state jail facility to 10 years in prison.
- A third-degree felony becomes a second-degree felony. The range goes from 2–10 years to 2–20 years.
- A second-degree felony becomes a first-degree felony. The range goes from 2–20 years to 5–99 years or life, with fines up to $10,000.3State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.32 – First Degree Felony Punishment
- A first-degree felony stays first-degree, but the minimum jumps from 5 years to 15. The maximum remains 99 years or life.
That top tier is where the statute lands hardest. Aggravated robbery is already a first-degree felony. Add the organized crime enhancement, and a plea offer begins at 15 years rather than 5. At trial, the sentence can go to life.
Civil Forfeiture of Property Under Chapter 59
Prison time is only one piece of the exposure. Chapter 59 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure lets the state seize property that was used in, intended for use in, or acquired through organized criminal activity.4Justia. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure – Chapter 59 – Forfeiture of Contraband Cash, vehicles, real estate, and bank accounts are all reachable. The definition of “contraband” in Article 59.01 expressly includes property tied to Chapter 71 offenses.
Forfeiture is a civil proceeding. The state does not have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt; it only has to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the property is linked to criminal activity. You can be acquitted of the organized crime charge and still lose the property, because the two cases run on separate burdens and separate rules. Texas law allows innocent owners to contest a seizure, but the owner carries the burden of proving no knowledge of and no reason to suspect the property’s criminal use.
No Private Lawsuit Like Federal RICO
If you are researching the Texas statute because you were harmed by a group’s conduct and want to sue, be aware of this limit. Federal RICO allows private plaintiffs to sue for triple damages. Texas Penal Code Section 71.02 has no private civil cause of action. Victims cannot use it to sue the group for treble damages the way they can under the federal statute.
When Federal RICO Can Also Apply
Federal RICO and Texas Section 71.02 target overlapping conduct, and nothing stops both from being charged over the same underlying activity. Federal and state governments are separate sovereigns, so double jeopardy generally does not block parallel prosecutions. Federal prosecutors usually pick up cases with interstate reach, large drug trafficking networks, or public corruption. State prosecutors handle cases with a local footprint.
Federal RICO requires a “pattern of racketeering activity,” meaning at least two related predicate acts within ten years, drawn from a long list of qualifying offenses.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1961 – Definitions Texas requires only a single qualifying offense committed with the intent to support a combination or gang, which is why state prosecutors can often bring organized crime charges earlier in an investigation than federal prosecutors can. Federal RICO convictions carry up to 20 years per count, or life if the predicate permits. Texas convictions can also reach life when the underlying offense is a first-degree felony.