If a few stories I read were true. The part of the thing was absolutely certainly going to blow up sooner than later. Certain loans were economically impossible.
That was something a little different. Degenerate gamblers don't want to wait months or years to see if their bets hit. If someone is going to turn real estate into outright gambling then they'll have to find a way to accelerate the cycle time.
As a result of that financial crisis, real estate is somewhat heavily regulated in most countries, and exotic financial instruments based on real estate (which you’d need to make this work) are treated with suspicion. Probably not the most fertile ground for the aspiring scammer.