Thirteen alleged members of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings) have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Greensboro, N.C. for allegedly conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise.

According to the indictment, 12 defendants are members of the Latin Kings, a violent street gang with members operating in North Carolina since at least 2005. The traditional power centers of the Latin Kings are the Chicago and New York metropolitan areas, with thousands of members scattered across the United States and overseas.

According to the indictment, the Latin Kings were allegedly formed in North Carolina by JORGE PETER CORNELL, a/k/a “King Jay,” who allegedly became a member of the Latin Kings while he was residing in New York City. When CORNELL moved to the Middle District of North Carolina, he allegedly formed a tribe and became the “Inca” for the entire state of North Carolina. It is alleged that, through violence, threats of violence, and coercion, CORNELL gained control of all of the Latin Kings tribes in North Carolina, including chapters in Greensboro, Charlotte, Durham, and Raleigh.

The unsealed indictment also sets forth allegations that CORNELL, in an attempt to disguise the criminal activities of the Latin Kings and frustrate law enforcement attempts to investigate and prosecute Latin Kings members, orchestrated a public relations campaign to falsely portray the Latin Kings as a public service organization.

It is also alleged that CORNELL made public statements for peace between Greensboro street gangs and regularly held media events with community leaders to publicly advocate for the dissolution of Greensboro Police Department’s gang unit during the same period of time that he allegedly plotted to murder or assault rival gang members (including other Latin Kings) and was involved in other gang-related criminal activities.