Cook County, Illinois, holds public auctions to sell tax liens on delinquent taxpayers' property. To keep the system honest, the County requires buyers to submit bids in their own names. One may not use "agents, employees, or related entities" to submit bids for the same property by disguising the real bidder.
Phoenix Bond and some others, who regularly compete to buy the tax liens, sued Bridge and others for fraudulently getting tax liens by filing false documents that swore they were in compliance with the open bidding process when they were not. As a result, the plaintiffs lost possible tax lien purchases. They claimed defendants violated RICO through a pattern of racketeering activity involving mail fraud by sending false documents related to the tax lien purchases.

1. How were Phoenix Bond and other plaintiffs allegedly injured by the bidding scheme of Bridge and others?
2. Why was it to the advantage of plaintiffs to bring a cause of action under RICO?