Young

*391 MEMORANDUM **

William and Sandra Young and Justin McNamara invested funds in what they thought was a riskless high-yield investment program operated by JV Ventures (JW), a Utah limited liability company managed by Alan Williams. Williams arranged for a man named Scott Hamilton to handle the investment. Instead, Hamilton (with the involvement of others, including a man named Clarence Winning) wired the money to a third party in England. Unable to recover anything, the Youngs and McNamara brought suit in the Southern District of California against JW, Williams, and other alleged facilitators of the unauthorized transfer, including Winning. The complaint alleged violations of the civil provisions of RICO and California law (breach of contract, fraud and deceit, and related claims). After a bench trial, the district court concluded that the “investment program” was a fraud and that Williams, JW, Winning, and other defendants were hable under RICO and on many of the state law claims. Williams, JW, and Winning appeal.

Williams contends that the district court erred in holding him hable under civil RICO. A violation of the relevant provision, 18 U.S.C. § 1962 (c), 1 requires “(1)…