The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) is a federal law that seeks to combat organized crime in the United States. Section B of RICO states that it is illegal for any person or group of persons to engage in a "pattern of racketeering activity". This section defines "racketeering activity" as any act or threat that is indictable under certain criminal laws, such as bribery, counterfeiting, embezzlement, fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice. Under RICO, there are three elements required for a person or group to be found guilty of engaging in a pattern of racketeering activity: 1. The person/persons must have committed two or more acts of racketeering activity within a 10-year period. 2. The acts must have been related and amount to a continuing pattern of racketeering activity. This means that the acts must have been connected in some way, such as by the same enterprise or person, or the same type of unlawful activity. 3. The person/persons must have obtained some type of income or other benefit from the racketeering activity. RICO defines a number of different types of racketeering activities, including bribery, embezzlement, extortion, fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice. A conviction under RICO can result in significant fines and jail time for the guilty party.