A bankruptcy of just one defendatnt holds up prosecution of the entire case.

Often times nothing is done to these illegal wholesalers because it takes too much time and effort on the part of the State to find and prosecute them, but don't think that you are immune to the legal process if someone in foreclosure takes you to court because they lost their home because you failed to deliver on your purchase contract by attempting to act as an unlicensed broker.Scenario 1:  An investor who invests in real estate and has bought several properties finds a great deal. 

Next thing you know, under threat of prosecution, landlord has to refund 100% of renters payments and 100% of S8 payments back to the beginning of the lease.

And remember, because it involves mortgages, you can be sued and prosecuted for up to 10 years (a very long time) after you buy the property. 

I call it selective prosecution.

Bank related issues can be prosecuted for 10 years.

Taking excessive equity is greedy and gets you sued or prosecuted.

The government was very active in prosecuting creative deals after the great melt-down.

When complaints were filed due to major issues raised, some states prosecuted the companies for depriving buyers of ownership rights and outright deeded the houses to buyers (regardless of breach of contract and default on loans), with huge restitutions to be paid to state and end buyers.

All very unethical and sometimes charges are filed just to stop someone from continuing an unethical practice even though the underlying charges are not enough to win at prosecution.