Legal Definitions - wheel conspiracy

A wheel conspiracy is a specific type of criminal agreement characterized by a central individual or group, often referred to as the "hub," who coordinates with multiple other individuals or groups, known as the "spokes," to achieve a common illegal objective. In this structure, the "spokes" typically interact only with the "hub" and often do not know or communicate directly with each other. The "hub" acts as the essential orchestrator, linking all the separate participants to the overall scheme.

• Example 1: Illegal Drug Distribution Network
  Imagine a major drug trafficker (the "hub") who supplies illegal substances to several independent street dealers (the "spokes") operating in different neighborhoods. Each street dealer buys drugs directly from the trafficker and sells them in their assigned territory. The dealers do not know each other, nor do they interact. However, they all rely on the central trafficker for their supply, and their individual actions contribute to the trafficker's larger goal of distributing drugs and profiting. This arrangement forms a wheel conspiracy because the central trafficker connects all the independent dealers, who are otherwise unaware of each other's involvement.

• Example 2: Fraudulent Investment Scheme
  Consider a scam artist (the "hub") who designs a sophisticated fraudulent investment scheme. To attract investors, the scam artist recruits several independent "agents" or "recruiters" (the "spokes") in various cities. Each agent is tasked with convincing new victims to invest money, which they then funnel back to the central scam artist. The agents operate independently, often unaware of the other agents' existence, but they all report to and receive instructions and commissions from the central scam artist. This setup constitutes a wheel conspiracy because the scam artist serves as the central point, connecting all the individual recruiters to the overarching fraudulent enterprise.