Cypress Hills

A fraud ring involving 13 people and potentially $100 million of losses was charged yesterday by the Manhattan District Attorney. Much of the illegal activity occurred over the past four years in the East New York and Cypress Hills sections of Brooklyn, according to the NY Times. The ringleaders of the scam, which involved targeting troubled homeowners and duping buyers with good credit into purchasing the homes at inflated prices to suck out the largest mortgage possible, were three principals in the Long Island-based AFG Financial Group.