Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
| 19 May 2017 (USA)
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail Trailers

The incredible saga of the Chinese immigrant Sung family, owners of Abacus Federal Savings of Chinatown, New York. Accused of mortgage fraud by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., Abacus becomes the only U.S. bank to face criminal charges in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The indictment and subsequent trial forces the Sung family to defend themselves – and their bank’s legacy in the Chinatown community – over the course of a five-year legal battle.

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Reviews
SparkMore

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

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Invaderbank

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

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Portia Hilton

Blistering performances.

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Kinley

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

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bettycjung

6/2/18. Another perspective on the 2008 financial debacle. While watching this, you have to wonder if this Chinese-run bank wasn't singled out to be the scapegoat for the what happened during the 2008 Great Recession. Just seemed like an easy target to get picked on, while the mega-banks got away with murder. Granted they had their problems with record-keeping, but they weren't the only ones. So, watch this with that in mind. Oscar-nominated and worth catching.

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jianqiaoyep

You can still get justice in America, but it will cost you 10 million. What I dont get in addition is that the AG and the government did not pay them back, for false accusation and 5 years of work. It's false accsation from the AG for god's sake.

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dack

This is a well-constructed documentary. You may even enjoy watching it. But I found it incredibly frustrating because *none* of this ever would've happened if Vera Sung hadn't told one of her bank's customers -- who objected to losing a significant downpayment as a result of one of her employee's actions -- to file a complaint at the *police precinct*.(You can see this scene at about 13:30 in the Frontline version.)By treating this couple as criminal co-conspirators instead of customers, Vera Sung brought this entire thing on her and her family. It's really that simple. And it's unfortunate this fact is completely lost on both the Sungs and the documentarian.Years of litigation and a $10 million defense is perhaps a bit steep of a karma price tag, but not far off.

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marsanobill

Abacus: Small Enough to Jail is a suspenseful David v. Goliath documentary of family loyalty and stubborn courage facing a gigantic government agency and an ego to match. As follows: Tom Sung emigrated from China at 16 and became in time a citizen, a successful lawyer and a resident of upscale Connecticut. Nevertheless he noticed that 'establishment' banks were happy to take his deposits, but when it came to getting a loan, he didn't, as the saying went in the hateful days of the racist Exclusion Act, 'have a Chinaman's chance.' Sung then took a chance and started his own bank—Abacus Federal Savings. His timing was perfect: new immigration laws in the 1960s meant Chinatown soon had a] plenty of customers for Abacus and b] something besides Cantonese restaurants. He was a genuine positive force among the Chinese population, admired and respected by all. Then about a decade ago low-ranking Abacus personnel were caught falsifying mortgage applications; they were immediately sacked and their misdeeds reported to feds, as required. Mistake, as it turned out. The subprime- mortgage crisis was big news: until then, few Americans used the word 'trillion' for anything but the national debt or the distance from here to Alpha Centauri. Villains included Citibank, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and while some were fined, no one went to jail and most bonuses were paid as usual. Unfortunately for Abacus, new-minted New York D.A. Cyrus Vance Jr., who was as hungry for publicity as NY's Sen. Charles Schumer, saw a chance for headlines and photo ops. Seeking a halo as the sole public avenger of the crisis, Vance charged Abacus with 80 counts of criminal wrongdoing, launching a court battle that ran five years and cost $10 million. Although the major villains had got off lightly as being 'too big to fail,' Vance's target was indeed 'small enough to jail': in size, Abacus was 2600th among U.S. banks. About the size, as it turned out, of David. This is an excellent documentary, suspenseful but lightened with some bursts of humor among the Sung family as they fight for the reputations and their principles.

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