Mortgage fraud rings
Federal prosecutors indicted 24 people in a massive mortgage fraud scheme that they said was led in part by a gang member from San Diego and netted participants $11 million in profits.
In an indictment unsealed yesterday, prosecutors laid out a wide-ranging racketeering conspiracy that ran from 2005 to 2008 and targeted homes across the county. Among the identified leaders was Darnell 'Stringer' Bell, a documented member of the Lincoln Park street gang.
Bell, 38, used his status in the gang to recruit other members for the scheme and "maintain discipline," according to the indictment.