Predicate crime

In the criminal law of the United States, a predicate crime or offense is a crime which is a component of a larger crime. The larger crime may be racketeering, money laundering, financing of terrorism, etc.

For example, to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), a person must "engage in a pattern of racketeering activity", and in particular, must have committed at least two predicate crimes within 10 years. These include bribery, blackmail, extortion, fraud, theft, money laundering, counterfeiting, and illegal gambling.

Crimes are predicate to a larger crime if they have a similar purpose to the larger crime. For example, using false identification is itself a crime; it may be a predicate offense to larceny or fraud if it is used to withdraw money from a bank account.

Predicate crimes can be charged separately or together with the larger crime.