OC ordeal echoes old debtors’ prisons

In the mid-1800s, the United States eliminated the medieval institution of debtors’ prisons – whereby destitute people would languish in prison until they worked off their debts. They ultimately were replaced by our modern bankruptcy laws. Yet vestiges of that arcane system remain, as a bizarre Orange County court case makes clear.
Prosecutors alleged that Zulmai Nazarzai was involved in a “boiler-room telemarketing operation” that collected more than $2 million from 1,20