In this criminal action alleging RICO1 violations, the State in its appeal of the trial court’s grant of defendants’ special demurrer argues that the 13-page indictment adequately alleged the elements of the two RICO counts. Because the indictment set forth sufficient detail to withstand the special demurrer, we reverse. In reviewing a ruling on a special demurrer, we apply a de novo standard of review because it is a question of law whether the allegations in the indictment are legally sufficient. See Geele v. State .2 The indictment here alleged two RICO counts: that Steven Pittman and James Collins violated OCGA § 16-14-4 a by acquiring money through a pattern of racketeering activity, and that they conspired to violate OCGA § 16-14-4 a by devising and executing a fraud scheme, which conspiracy was a violation of OCGA § 16-14-4 c. The indictment specified 60 predicate acts to support the violation of OCGA § 16-14-4 a, which acts alleged bank fraud and attempted bank fraud, residential mortgage fraud and attempted residential mortgage fraud, forgery, theft by taking, and theft by deception. The indictment identified 19 separate loan transactions by loan number, date of closing, lender, borrower, and loan amount as the primary bases for the allegations of fraud and theft, describing the fraud and theft as consisting i of defendants’ misrepresentations to the borrowers that church entities controlled by pastor Collins, which entities would be receiving the funds, would be solely responsible for repaying the loans, and ii of defendants’ preparing and submitting fraudulent and forged documents a forged purchase agreement in one transaction and fraudulent sales contracts, loan applications, personal financial statements, and HUD settlement statements in four other transactions to one lender to persuade it to loan the money to the borrowers.
The conspiracy count alleged an intricate scheme in which Pittman as a bank official for the primary lender and Collins as the church pastor for all of the borrowers jointly used their positions to persuade the lenders and borrowers, through deceitful representations and fraudulent documents, to close the loan transactions, which not only furthered the career of Pittman as a bank official but benefitted Collins personally and as the church pastor through the infusion of cash into the business and church entities he incorporated and controlled. As overt acts, the indictment alleged that Collins would identify unsophisticated parishioners and convince them to sign financial documents to obtain money for his church and its programs, misrepresenting to them that they had no personal financial risk since the church and its entities would be solely responsible for repaying the loans. Concealing that the true purpose of the loans was to provide money to Collins personally and to advance Pittman’s professional career, both Collins and Pittman would provide false information about the borrowers and related collateral in the financial documents submitted to the lenders, would submit forged documents to the lenders, and would solicit additional victims to repay prior loans. Pittman would use his position at the bank to ensure that the financial transactions were approved and closed. Ten parishioners identified by name in 19 separately-identified loan transactions involving three specified lenders primarily Pittman’s bank borrowed over $600,000 that went to Collins’s church entities.
