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The bank lent me $2m so I spent it on strippers and cars

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Re: The bank lent me $2m so I spent it on strippers and cars

#161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But he didn't take out a loan. The bank kept giving him money whenever he wanted to withdraw it. That is not a loan. A loan requires explicit agreement and a fixed amount.

He signed a contract when he opened up the bank account. That contract would have included clauses establishing liability for overdrafts, even if the bank account didn't include an overdraft facility.

> That contract would have included clauses establishing liability for overdrafts

Maybe the contract did not include such a clause? There's a reason why he got acquitted in the end.

Re: The bank lent me $2m so I spent it on strippers and cars

#162

Reminds me of something that happened back when I still had a landline. They incorrectly billed us over $2000. We argued with them and they reversed the charges - twice. So now my balance showed a credit of $2000. I kept calling them back and they said they couldn't see anything wrong on my account. This went on for months. A number of times the person on the phone said "Well just don't tell anyone!". I asked for tha…

Wouldn't the optimal (not morally) move be to just set aside the money you might eventually have to pay back?

We had to set money aside because all our bills showed a credit - we weren't making thousands of dollars in phone calls every month.

What everyone was telling me to do was to make lots of expensive long distance calls because I had the credit. I didn't want to have to pay that back once they fixed it.

Re: The bank lent me $2m so I spent it on strippers and cars

#163
post #38
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep this is my takeaway from the story. I will not be sad when AI automates away the majority of the legal industry. Really really terrifying that one's access to justice is dependent on their access to finances. Luckily this guy was smart enough to actually represent himself - credit to him for that!

This has been my reason for being against the death penalty for many years. It's hard to justify when the OJ's of the world get a pass due to wealth or celebrity. I never thought of AI being used in this capacity. Seems like we'd live in The Day The Earth Stood Still world, giving the automatons the jurisdiction to meat out justice.

mete

Re: The bank lent me $2m so I spent it on strippers and cars

#164
post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if your friend tells you he's hard up for rent and you loan him 1000 dollars he can decide not to pay you back and it "has nothin to do with morality"? After all, you were aware of the risk that he wouldn't pay you back.

One should never lend money to friends. Make it a gift. Never have an expectation of getting it back. One lending money the person should understand this but not everyone does. In the situation a friends it would be immoral to not try to pay it back. In the situation of the lender being an expert who understand the pricing of loans and understands the risks then it isn't a moral issue.

What if am an expert who understands the pricing of loans and understands the risks, but I make a personal loan to a friend? Is it immoral to not try and pay it back then?

Isn't repaying your debts (or attempting to) morality 101 stuff? You made an agreement and received a benefit from your counterparty.

Just because someone thought you might default doesn't relieve you of your obligations. I lock my doors because I think someone might break in, that doesn't mean I've "priced in" my TV being stolen so it's OK to take it.

Re: The bank lent me $2m so I spent it on strippers and cars

#165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Things like this are why it takes me 3 months and numerous trips to the bank to get a home equity loan. I also need to provide proof of what I was going to do with the money. On the plus side I got to witness the loan agent having to use a typewriter in 2016.

I got a HELOC in the US in 1 trip to the bank and about 30 minutes. Was so easy. No typewriter either.

Many people do it entirely on-line, and the bank sends a notary to their house to do the final paperwork!

Re: The bank lent me $2m so I spent it on strippers and cars

#166
post #114
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, our next president was over 1 billion in debt which is oddly enough a powerful position to be in as they really don't want you to default. PS: This is where cash flow is so important. If you have debt of 10 billion and assets 'worth' 9 billion but can make debt payments then it's not yet game over.

Yep amazing how he turned it around. I remember a trailer for a documentary on it somehow.

He bought 40 Wall Street for $10MM (in loans), put $40MM into renovations (money which came from loans) and it's now worth $600MM.

I too could become ultra-wealthy if someone were to give me a ton of money to buy assets at well below market value.

Re: The bank lent me $2m so I spent it on strippers and cars

#167
post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, significant difference. I've seen several stories of people prosecuted for spending improper deposits, but presumably a loan - where risk is implied and defaulting is an understood practice - is a different beast.

He seems to be trying to justify his actions by calling it a loan, but I've never heard of a loan where the bank tells you that you can just start over drafting your account and let it go negative, then pay us back later.

Overdraft protection is an explicit line of credit (read: loan) that you agree to open along with your bank account.

Re: The bank lent me $2m so I spent it on strippers and cars

#168
post #78
post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, usually $2 million is around the amount where you have a problem. It's when you owe the bank $2 billion that the bank has a problem.

Yep, our next president was over 1 billion in debt which is oddly enough a powerful position to be in as they really don't want you to default. PS: This is where cash flow is so important. If you have debt of 10 billion and assets 'worth' 9 billion but can make debt payments then it's not yet game over.

I was once advised that if you are going to drown, it is better to drown in the ocean than a mud puddle.

Re: The bank lent me $2m so I spent it on strippers and cars

#169
post #24
post #20

The big story for me here is: don't rely on your lawyers. Not unless they cost enough to rely on. Form a strong idea of your own case and your own defense. Even if you're not representing yourself.

Yep this is my takeaway from the story. I will not be sad when AI automates away the majority of the legal industry. Really really terrifying that one's access to justice is dependent on their access to finances. Luckily this guy was smart enough to actually represent himself - credit to him for that!

> I will not be sad when AI automates away the majority of the legal industry.

It won't. Companies will just sell their specially-crafted AIs to law firms and governments for a lot of money. These AIs are currently used for identifying judges likely to be sympathetic toward your cause.

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