Abacus bank case9/22/2023 Sung went to meet them personally to calm them down. It was the second crisis the Abacus had faced, as in 2003 a previous employee had stolen money from the bank and caused a temporary panic among its depositors, who made a run on the bank until Mr. With that, began a five-year ordeal of investigations, accusations, and a 67-day trial. Moreover, it was convinced the Sungs themselves were in cahoots with all the financial shenanigans. Despite fully cooperating with the police, and despite the bank itself being the one to expose and report the crime, the NYCDA believed the bank itself must have known about the fraud. Yu was immediately fired and Jill Sung, one of AFSB's officers, reported the crime to the authorities. Moreover, he was deceiving the bank about loans made. In December 2009, one of AFSB's employees, Qi Bin (Ken) Yu, was exposed as a thief and money launderer. That same attorney, Cyrus Vance, Jr., would become the Sung Family nemesis. Only another daughter, Chanterelle, opted not to join the family business, but to become a lawyer and work for the New York County District Attorney. Over time, Abacus Federal Savings Bank grew to respectability and prestige, and three of his four daughters came aboard to help run AFSB. With that, he founded Abacus, using the legendary Chinese calculator as inspiration for the name. Thomas Sung, a first-generation Chinese-American, saw a need for a bank to service his community. Abacus: Small Enough to Jail chronicles the Abacus trial, the effects it had on the family behind the bank, and on how Abacus Federal Savings Bank was almost made the scapegoat for a disaster not of their own making. It was small and from a community that was not seen as a threat politically. Abacus: Small Enough to Jail is a play on the idea that it was targeted because unlike the other major international corporations that were 'too big to fail', Abacus was easy pickings. Instead, it was a small family-run bank with a total of six branches that specialized in working with the Chinese-American community, primarily in New York's Chinatown. The 2008 mortgage crisis had many causes and villains, but in the banking industry, there was only one that faced any actual prosecution. ![]() Vance who headed up the case.It has been ten years since the world financial market teetered on the verge of total collapse. James - who was also behind “Hoop Dreams” and “Life Itself” - sat down with several members of the prosecution, including Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. ![]() That’s what’s very infuriating and actually is quite concerning because it creates a reverse incentive.Ībacus was charged with 240 counts including grand larceny, falsifying documents, conspiracy and mortgage fraud. Compared to the larger institutions that appeared to cover things up or wanted to turn their back away from it and not recognize what was happening, we said, “OK, here’s something we’re investigating, we’re letting you know, we’re telling you.” But instead we were punished as if we were the bad actors who were not good eggs and were let go. The most appalling and shocking thing to us was that we actually thought we were doing the right thing. The sisters notified authorities, but were surprised when the investigation turned to them. Back in 2009, Jill and Vera Sung, who now run the bank with their father, discovered evidence that several of their employees were committing fraud. The bank specializes in loaning to residents of Chinatown, most of whom are immigrants. In a new documentary film, “ Abacus: Small Enough to Jail,” filmmaker Steve James tells the story of the Sungs, the family of a now 82-year-old Chinese immigrant named Thomas Sung who started Abacus in 1984.Ībacus is the 2,531st largest bank in the country, with assets that are a mere 1/100th of one percent that of Bank of America. In 2010, the New York District Attorney’s office charged Abacus Federal Savings Bank of Chinatown, New York with mortgage fraud.Ībacus became the only bank prosecuted for the financial crisis.
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