I really get confused every time I see that on the news
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Broadly speaking, it is an all-encompassing term for a form of an organized crime, an illegal scheme; not a singular crime committed by a sole perpetrator. It is also a pattern of illegal activity.
For example: human trafficking, bribery, insider trading, arson, extortion, wire fraud, etc.
The basic elements of racketeering (according to the DOJ):
• A criminal enterprise existed
• The enterprise affected interstate commerce (making it federal, not state)
• The defendant was associated with or employed by the enterprise
• The defendant engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity
• The defendant participated in at least two acts of racketeering activity
Think of racketeering as “being involved in organized crime”. Examples would be the mob or a drug cartel. Racketeering simply means you are involved in or supporting the crimes committed by the group. For instance, you might be an accountant for a drug cartel. While you are not physically out on the street selling drugs or killing people, you are there to support the guys in the organization who are doing that. So you held responsible for aiding the group commit crimes.
I had a high school teacher who described it this way: racketeering is an organized illegal business where everyone is complicit.
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