## Facts

- Atlanta police arrested fifteen pimps in November 2001; a federal grand jury returned a 265-count indictment covering conduct from 1997 to November 2001.
- Thirteen defendants pleaded guilty; Charles Floyd Pipkins (“Sir Charles”) and Andrew Moore, Jr. (“Batman”) went to trial.
- Pipkins and Moore operated as pimps in southwest Atlanta along Metropolitan Avenue (“the track”) and prostituted juvenile females, including at least one as young as 12.
- The prostitution operation used a hierarchy within each pimp’s group (including “bottom girls” and “wives-in-law”) to supervise prostitutes, collect money, and manage operations.
- Trial evidence described shared practices among pimps on the track, including common rules and culture, coordination, and the use of violence, threats, and psychological control to maintain obedience and prevent juveniles from leaving.
- The government alleged an association-in-fact enterprise of pimps who cooperated in aspects of the business (including discipline, training, and trading prostitutes) and shared understandings about territory and pricing.

## Issues

1. Whether sufficient evidence supported the jury’s finding that defendants agreed to participate in a RICO “enterprise” for purposes of a conspiracy conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d).
2. Whether the alleged enterprise affected interstate commerce enough to satisfy RICO’s jurisdictional element.
3. Whether sufficient evidence supported the non-RICO prostitution-related convictions involving minors.
4. Whether the district court committed reversible error in applying the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, including role and conduct enhancements and relevant-conduct findings.

## Decision

- The Eleventh Circuit affirmed all convictions and sentences.
- The court held the evidence was sufficient for a rational jury to find an association-in-fact RICO enterprise with structure, continuity, and a common purpose of profiting from prostitution on the track, frequently involving juveniles.
- The court held the evidence supported a § 1962(d) RICO conspiracy because defendants agreed to further the enterprise’s criminal objectives, even if they did not agree to commit every predicate act.
- The court held the interstate commerce element was satisfied under a minimal-effects standard based on evidence of interstate movement of money, goods, travel, or communications connected to the operation.
- The court upheld the substantive prostitution-related convictions and found no reversible error in the challenged Guidelines determinations.

## Legal Principles

- An association-in-fact enterprise under RICO may be proved through evidence of a common purpose, continuity, and an organizational structure that can be informal, including shared rules, hierarchy, and coordinated conduct.
- A RICO conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d) does not require proof that each conspirator agreed to personally commit each predicate act; it is enough that the defendant agreed to further an endeavor that, if completed, would satisfy the elements of a substantive RICO offense.
- RICO’s interstate commerce requirement is met where the enterprise’s activities have at least a minimal effect on interstate commerce.
- On sufficiency review, the appellate court sustains convictions if, viewing the evidence in the government’s favor, a rational jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
- In sentencing, the Guidelines may account for leadership role, use of juveniles, violence, and the broader scope of relevant conduct and victimization supported by the record.

## Conclusion

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentences of two Atlanta pimps, holding that the evidence supported a RICO association-in-fact enterprise and a § 1962(d) agreement to further that enterprise through racketeering activity, that the enterprise minimally affected interstate commerce, and that the substantive offenses and Guidelines applications were supported by the trial record.


United States v. Pipkins, 378 F.3d 1281 (11th Cir. 2004)