RICO stands for "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations." It is a law that is "designed to attack organized criminal activity and preserve marketplace integrity by investigating, controlling, and prosecuting persons who participate or conspire to participate in racketeering." Black's Law Dictionary 1286 (8th ed.).

Used by the United States since 1795, extradition treaties remain the most common tool among nations for the surrender of individuals accused or convicted of criminal activity who are no longer found within the requesting country.

Making false statements is a very serious crime. It is defined as "an untrue statement knowingly made with the intent to mislead."

Bank Fraud is the "criminal offense of knowingly executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme or artifice to defraud a financial institution, or to obtain property owned by or under the control of a financial institution, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises."

Like other forms of white collar fraud, the objective of accounting fraud is to accomplish a desired result by deception, trickery, concealment, and/or dishonesty.

A conspiracy is "an agreement by two or more persons to commit an unlawful act, coupled with an intent to achieve the agreement's objective, and [often] action or conduct that furthers the agreement; a combination for an unlawful purpose."

Wire fraud is an act of fraud using electronic communication. Black's Law Dictionary 687 (8th ed. 2005). This electronic communication can be via wire, radio, or television. 18 U.S.C. § 1343 (2007).

Unlike mail fraud, bank fraud, or wire fraud, mortgage fraud does not have its own federal statute associated with it. However, that definitely does not prevent the federal government from aggressively prosecuting the crime under the title of "mortgage fraud.".

Since its enactment in 1872, mail fraud has been a prominently charged federal offense. The statutes ease of application, flexibility, and breadth make it usable in virtually every variation of fraudulent activity. The essence of the mail fraud statute is an intentionally deceptive scheme or plan done in connection with the use of the U.S. mail or any private commercial carrier.