BP (NYSE:BP) Accused of Breaking Civil Racketeering Law in Gulf Spill Lawsuit

A lawyer suing BP (NYSE:BP) claims the oil giant broke civil racketeering laws in relationship to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Lawyers Stephen Herman and James Roy asserted, “BP engaged in a pattern of fraudulent conduct directed at regulators from the inception of the Macondo project, continuing through and after the spill and to this day. BP’s fraudulent actions and omissions were part of a broader pattern of unlawful conduct that it has employed over the years to place profits over safety.”

The two lawyers are liaison counsel for a committee representing plaintiffs in more than 400 lawsuits in regard to personal and economic injuries resulting from the oil spill.

They allege that “BP has, since at least 2001, used this enterprise to conduct the related acts of mail and wire fraud comprising the pattern of racketeering.”

BP closed Monday at $48.08, gaining $0.47, or 0.99 percent