TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

There was a reason the real estate offices of Crisp & Cole were filled with young turks, says former employee Jerald Teixeira.

"All the real estate agents were 22- and 23-year-old boys, really, with no life experience," he recalled Friday. "When I look back, I realize that none of (the schemes) would have worked if they couldn't be manipulated."

The McFarland High graduate, who grew up on a dairy farm and served three years as a Marine before joining the now-disgraced Crisp & Cole real estate firm, pleaded guilty in 2009 to defrauding mortgage lenders and helping principals in the company get rich through well-placed lies and deceit.

Under his plea agreement, Teixeira agreed to help federal prosecutors. To tell the whole truth, he says, is part of his penance, a way to be the kind of man he wants to be, the kind of man he really is.

On Thursday and Friday, the case took a huge step forward when 10 people connected to the Crisp & Cole mortgage fraud investigation were arrested following the issuance of a federal indictment.

With prosecutions still pending, and as a potential witness, Teixeira said he could not talk specifics about evidence or discuss details about his experiences during the year of so he worked at Crisp & Cole.

But Teixeira, now 31, said it's different living inside the bubble than being on the outside, looking in. When questionable actions are justified by people in high places, young, loyal footsoldiers are more likely to go along.

"It was the order of the day," he said of the machinations at C&C.

Teixeira acknowledges he has done wrong, and that people were hurt -- some ruined financially -- by the actions perpetrated in the offices of his former employer.

A judge may recommend leniency in exchange for his help, but Teixeira said he doesn't expect complete forgiveness from the public until he has paid for whatever part he played in the scandal.

If that means prison, he said he's willing to make the best of it.

For now, he's living every day as if it's a gift. He has held the same job in the health and nutrition field for nearly 3 1/2 years and he and his fiancee stay busy taking care of their 4-year-old daughter.

And he loves being out of the Crisp & Cole work environment.

"I think whatever you do in your life, you're going to have to atone for your mistakes," he said. "Ultimately, justice is going to be served."