Six women sued disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein and The Weinstein Company on Wednesday, alleging his sexual assault cover-ups were racketeering.
Harvey Weinstein and his companies face a potential class-action racketeering lawsuit after allegedly conspiring to cover up sexual assault and silence victims.
Legal experts say using the federal racketeering statute is a more complex route than a personal injury suit — but if they win, they could receive triple the amount of potential damages.
Six women on Wednesday filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein and the companies associated with him, alleging that their coordinated efforts to cover up a pattern of egregious sexual misconduct amounted to racketeering.
The women accused Weinstein, The Weinstein Company, members of its board, and Miramax of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) act, a law passed in 1970 that was designed to prosecute massive criminal enterprises like the Mafia.
Tech: The 6 women suing Harvey Weinstein are using a gangster law originally designed to take down the Mafia — and experts warn it won’t be easy
