Police: Murder investigation led to massive real-estate fraud ring

Two lawyers and a number of mortgage-company employees were indicted today on charges they scammed mortgage companies out of $10.6 million on Boston-area properties (press release from the US Attorney's office).

The 11 people are charged with using made-up records and stolen identities to rake in mortgages from 10 different lenders on 21 properties in the Boston area, the US Attorney's office charges. A number of those properties are now in foreclosure, officials said.

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said police stumbled on the scheme while investigating a murder case. He did not identify that case.

Several of the defendants were already, as they say, known to police.

Jermaine Blake, 20, of Mattapan, was arrested on two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon last Labor Day for allegedly shooting a gun at his brother during an argument - while he was already facing charges of assaulting the mother of his child.

Jean Noriscat was charged with bank fraud in 2005.

Another defendant, Daniel Appolon, was arrested this past November at an early-morning melee at a Chinatown restaurant in which food, plates and chairs went flying through the air.

One of the two lawyers, Eric Levine, had his license to practice law suspended in 2003 and again in 2004. In 2003, the Supreme Judicial Court suspended his license for two years, ruling he not only convinced a pro-bono client to pay him $200 in violation of state regulations but that he then fabricated a letter that made it seem the money was for other purposes. He was suspended again the following year for practicing law while his license ws suspended.