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

bbc.com

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

#171

Post by saycheese »

wheelerwj wrote: post #53
adekok wrote: post #51

The article doesn't way why he was found not guilty, but I'll make my guess. He did nothing to defraud the bank or mislead it. He simply had access to a large line of credit, and used it. If the bank wants it's money back, that's a civil matter, not a criminal one. It's their responsibility to ask for it back. This reeks of incompetence on the part of the bank, followed by outright malice. They put an innocent guy in…

It does say: I was acquitted a few weeks ago. As far as the law is concerned in Australia at the moment I had no legal obligation to inform the Bank of what was going on. I wouldn't do it again - it wasn't worth a couple of good months with the strippers and some cocaine. The judge said I was dishonest, but we don't live in a society where moral wrongs result in people being locked up behind bars and their liberty ta…

>> "moral wrongs result in people being locked up behind bars and their liberty taken away from them"

Imagine what the world would be like if this was true.

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

#172

Post by pavel_lishin »

CPLX wrote: post #155

What a shame he was young and irresponsible when this happened. It could have been a truly epic story had he done something interesting like take out the money, invest it in something like income producing real property or a cashflow positive business, and then been able to come out ahead when judgement day inevitably came along by handing back the money owed.

I would imagine that most people who would allocate their money that way wouldn't take the risk of continually drawing on a magic line of credit.

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

#173

Post by saint_fiasco »

hsod wrote: post #143
scotty79 wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> without ever intending to pay it back How can you know that? He himself writes that he was waiting for the bank to ask for some money back and intended to deal with it when it comes. Lack of detailed planning for something isn't the same as lack of intention to do something when it happens. Lots of people take loans without precisely knowing where they'll find money to pay them back.

Sure, maybe he was planning to win the lottery when the payment came due. The question to me is, do you think he took and spent the money with the expectation that he would be able to pay it back? Seems pretty obvious the answer is no. Not saying he should be locked up, but let's be reasonable here.

He had a business, which he must have opened with money that was borrowed from that bank. Maybe he expected his business would take off and give him more money than what he owed.

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

#174

Post by pavel_lishin »

tlrobinson wrote: post #153
BeetleB wrote: post #149

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?

Except he'd have to set aside either two grand right away, or have to very carefully track his phone line usage and keep a separate account.

I think I would have closed the account, and either waited for them to realize what was going on before Accounting cut a $2k check.

A credit on an account is bits in a computer; a check going out to a customer is real money coming out of a bank account.

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

#175

Post by lmm »

TheArcane wrote: post #48
jdavis703 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's actually called fraud, at least in the US, and will be investigated by the Secret Service. If you experience such a windfall in your account, seek written permission from the bank before spending any of the money.

Isn't the Secret Service supposed to protect the president?

Their original job was to protect the currency. They got the job of protecting the president because at the time they were basically the only federal agency with the right capabilities.

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

#176

Post by virmundi »

saycheese wrote: post #171
wheelerwj wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It does say: I was acquitted a few weeks ago. As far as the law is concerned in Australia at the moment I had no legal obligation to inform the Bank of what was going on. I wouldn't do it again - it wasn't worth a couple of good months with the strippers and some cocaine. The judge said I was dishonest, but we don't live in a society where moral wrongs result in people being locked up behind bars and their liberty ta…

>> "moral wrongs result in people being locked up behind bars and their liberty taken away from them" Imagine what the world would be like if this was true.

No one would get locked up because there is no such thing as morality? There are only ethical systems setup for a certain goal. At least that is true if there is no deity that a) tells us anything, and/or b) that gives a shit about what it said.

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

#177

Post by orthecreedence »

antisthenes wrote: post #170
pcr0 wrote: post #9

Nice to see the turnaround from strippers and cocaine to attending law school and helping other people out.

And it only cost as much as most people make in a lifetime. What a great value for society we got from this one.

To be fair, the bank footed the bill, not society, so it is a net gain. Also, I'm sure the strippers and blow sector appreciated the stimulus.

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

#178

Post by Decade »

poslathian wrote: post #156
jjeaff wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 lines of credit are definitely a thing and can be arbitrarily large depending on the account holder. My bank keeps trying to sell me this, I don't see why this would be a good idea. Does anyone here use this? Also, one time our old bank erroneously withdrew a 6 figure sum from our operating account which put the balance far in the negative. I was stunned that they covered it and bemused to see a 35$ overdra…

I used an overdraft line of credit once, accidentally. Then I turned it off. The bank salesman had sold it to me as “overdraft protection,” and at the time I didn’t know what “overdraft protection” meant, so sure, protection is good, right?

I guess what they’re “protecting” you against is the embarrassment of having a rejected transaction. And then they charge the overdraft fee, and a fee for using credit, and more fees until you notice and fix it. And if you’re overdrawing on a debit card, then you’re probably poor and those fees are a substantial burden.

It’s one of the reasons I decided to close my Chase account.

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

#179

Post by lmm »

mikeash wrote: post #69
coldtea wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> He bought several expensive cars, spent time in Thailand, and started buying celebrity memorabilia and art? Why not? He had a nice experience, and even avoided any long term jail sentence. What's not to like?

He calls himself unlucky and says it nearly ruined his life. He sure doesn't sound like someone who enjoyed the experience.

Of course he may be saying that in the interests of gaining sympathy.

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

#180

Post by Bartweiss »

poslathian wrote: post #156
jjeaff wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 lines of credit are definitely a thing and can be arbitrarily large depending on the account holder. My bank keeps trying to sell me this, I don't see why this would be a good idea. Does anyone here use this? Also, one time our old bank erroneously withdrew a 6 figure sum from our operating account which put the balance far in the negative. I was stunned that they covered it and bemused to see a 35$ overdra…

I know someone who uses this. He's a contractor and small business owner, so his earnings are high but his cashflow is incredibly variable.

I don't think there's much justification for most people to have overdraft lines; it seems to primarily be a tool for people who have plenty of money but trouble knowing when it will be present.

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