Legal Definitions - Travel Act

Travel Act

The Travel Act is a United States federal law enacted in 1961. It makes it a federal crime to use any facility of interstate or foreign commerce (such as roads, mail, telephone, or the internet) with the intent to promote, manage, establish, or carry on any unlawful business activity, or to distribute the proceeds of such activity, or to commit any crime of violence to further such activity.

Essentially, the Act allows federal authorities to prosecute individuals involved in illegal enterprises that operate across state lines, even if the underlying illegal activity (like gambling or prostitution) is primarily a state crime. This was designed to help state and local governments combat organized crime that often transcends their jurisdictional boundaries.

Here are some examples of how the Travel Act might apply:

• Illegal Drug Trafficking: Imagine a criminal organization based in Arizona that uses a commercial shipping company to transport large quantities of illegal drugs to distributors in New Mexico. The leaders of the organization also use interstate phone calls and encrypted messaging apps to coordinate the logistics, payments, and distribution network across state lines.

  How it illustrates the Travel Act: By using interstate shipping services and communication methods (phone calls, internet) to manage and promote their illegal drug business across state lines, the individuals involved could be charged under the Travel Act.

• Online Illegal Gambling Operation: Consider an individual who sets up an illegal online sports betting website. While the server for the website is located in Nevada, the operator actively advertises the service and accepts bets from customers residing in various other states, processing financial transactions through an interstate payment processing system.

  How it illustrates the Travel Act: The use of the internet (an interstate communication facility) and an interstate payment system to establish, manage, and promote an unlawful gambling business that spans multiple states would fall under the Travel Act.

• Interstate Prostitution Ring: A criminal enterprise recruits individuals in Texas and then arranges for their transportation via commercial airlines and rental cars to safe houses in Louisiana and Mississippi, where they are forced into prostitution. The organizers use interstate cell phone calls and money transfers to manage the operation and collect profits.

  How it illustrates the Travel Act: The act of transporting individuals across state lines using interstate travel (airlines, rental cars) and communication (cell phones, money transfers) to facilitate and manage an illegal prostitution business demonstrates a violation of the Travel Act.