SOUTH BEND — A South Bend police officer Robert Culp resigned Wednesday afternoon. He is expected to plead guilty to bank fraud in federal court.

Prosecutors claim he purchased 190 homes in South Bend. They say he flipped them using bogus appraisals to get higher bank mortgages.

Court documents say Wells Fargo Bank gave him mortgages 85-90 percent higher than the purchase price after substandard or no repairs.

Many of the homes are now vacant or abandoned, and officials say that could be costing taxpayers.

Culp wasn't at Wednesday's Public Safety Committee meeting when his resignation letter was read.

"Officer Culp was a good officer. He will be missed for his professionalism as a police officer certainly," said Captain Phil Trent of the South Bend Police.

But people who live near his 190 properties don't share those sentiments.

Maria Cutler is afraid to let her daughter walk alone by Culp's vacant home on the 800 block of Wilbur Street.

"It's dangerous, too many things happening," said Cutler. "Drug deals, people coming and going that I know for a fact don't live here."

Court documents say Culp purchased homes between 2003 and 2007, including one on the 1400 block of Linden Street for $19,000. He had it re-appraised based upon repairs he never did for $69,000.

Prosecutors claim he paid people to file false loan applications to purchase the homes at the inflated cost.

Culp was supposed to find tenants or pay the mortgage for a year, but many of those homes are now vacant or abandoned.

South Bend Code Enforcement says the vacant and abandoned homes are a problem within weeks because the city has to come in and cut the grass to prevent rodent problems.

"I feel my money can go to better things than that, like education," said Cutler.

"It's not fair," said Phillip VanDenbossche.

The VanDenbossches live next door to a home owned by Culp.

"Here you have someone running a scam, and the property next to yours looks like trash," said Christy VanDenbossche.

They say the home has been broken into and maintenance work has been minimal. The VanDenbossches say they can sympathize with their other neighbors.

"I can only imagine what the other ones look like," said Christy.

Culp is expected to enter a guilty plea in the fall. He could face 30 years in jail and $1 million in fines.

The court documents name other people involved in the scam. None of those people have been charged, but the U.S. District Attorney is still investigating.