Demaria

MEMORANDUM **

This is an action pursuant to the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization (“RICO”) law, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961 et seq., alleging defendants engaged in a fraudulent enterprise by first concealing from the owner of certain mining claims the gold defendants mined from those claims and then disposing of the proceeds from its sale, rather than presenting all the gold to the plaintiff for selection of the plaintiffs royalty share. The plaintiff, Mildred DeMaria, is a successor in interest of the original owner of the mine. She brought this action against the individuals who leased the mining claims and eventually purchased them (the Sykoras), as well as the dealers who distributed the gold mined from those claims (the Leichts). Plaintiff alleges that the defendants conspired to defraud her and that the scheme was materially furthered by the distribution of the proceeds to bank accounts throughout the world by wire transfers, and by mailing of the gold itself to domestic and international buyers.

The district court dismissed the action for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The district court concluded that the alleged RICO…