Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53-394 (2026)
Definitions
(b) “Unlawful debt” means any money or other thing of value constituting principal or interest of a debt that is incurred or contracted:
(1) In violation of any of the following provisions of law: (A) Sections 53-278a to 53-278f, inclusive, relating to gambling activity; (B) chapter 663, relating to interest violations; or
(2) In gambling activity in violation of federal law or in the business of lending money at a rate usurious under state or federal law.
(c) “Enterprise” means any individual, sole proprietorship, corporation, business trust, union chartered under the laws of this state or other legal entity, or any unchartered union, association or group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal entity, and includes illicit as well as licit enterprises and governmental, as well as other entities. In determining whether any unchartered union, association or group of individuals exists, factors which may be considered as evidence of association include, but are not limited to: (1) A common name or identifying sign, symbols or colors and (2) rules of behavior for individual members.
(d) “Person” includes any individual or entity, governmental, business or other, capable of holding a legal or beneficial interest in property.
(e) “Pattern of racketeering activity” means engaging in at least two incidents of racketeering activity that have the same or similar purposes, results, participants, victims or methods of commission or otherwise are interrelated by distinguishing characteristics, including a nexus to the same enterprise, and are not isolated incidents, provided the latter or last of such incidents occurred after October 1, 1982, and within five years after a prior incident of racketeering activity.
(f) “State's attorney” means the Chief State's Attorney, a deputy chief state's attorney, any state's attorney or any assistant state's attorney.
(g) “Property” includes any property, real or personal, or any interest therein or any beneficial interest of whatever kind.
(P.A. 82-343, S. 2; P.A. 84-138, S. 1; P.A. 91-36; July Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-2, S. 8; P.A. 06-43, S. 2; P.A. 09-193, S. 1; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5, S. 128; P.A. 17-147, S. 41; P.A. 18-25, S. 8; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-1, S. 156.)
History: P.A. 84-138 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing alphabetic Subdiv. indicators with numeric Subdiv. indicators and adding Subdiv. (17) re Sec. 22a-131a; P.A. 91-36 added Subsec. (a)(18) re chapter 952, part XXIII; July Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-2 redefined “enterprise” to add provision re factors that may be considered as evidence of association when determining whether any unchartered union, association or group of individuals exists; P.A. 06-43 added Subsec. (a)(19) re Sec. 53a-192a, effective July 1, 2006; P.A. 09-193 amended Subsec. (a) to redefine “racketeering activity” by replacing “sections 36b-2 to 36b-33, inclusive, relating to securities” with “sections 36b-2 to 36b-34, inclusive, relating to securities fraud and related offenses” in Subdiv. (15); June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5 amended Subsec. (a) by adding Subdiv. (20) re Sec. 12-304(b)(1) or Sec. 12-308 relating to cigarettes, effective June 30, 2015; P.A. 17-147 amended Subsec. (a)(20) by adding reference to Sec. 12-330f(c) or 12-330j(b) relating to tobacco products, effective July 1, 2017; P.A. 18-25 amended Subsec. (a)(20) by deleting “subdivision (1) of” re Sec. 12-304(b), effective July 1, 2018; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-1 amended Subsec. (a)(16) by adding reference to Sec. 21a-278b, effective July 1, 2021.
Cited. 206 C. 421. A partnership qualifies as an enterprise under the category of other chartered legal entities; although defendant viewed relationship as a partnership, it constituted an unchartered enterprise, or association in fact, under Subsec. (c). 297 C. 66.
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