I don’t think they were openly racist and discriminatory toward the Chinese community, but their actions were. I don’t think they thought that’s what they were doing. I think there was a high level of racial insensitivity. He also made an impact in the Chinese community who looked at that and thought, “what is going on here?”ĭo you think Cyrus Vance’s office was racist in singling out a Chinese bank that served the local Chinese community, and subjecting them to that perp walk? There was no point in it except for spectacle and trying to make an impact. These are not people charged with dangerous crimes. The walk itself was designed to paint this as a serious case of fraud, “Look at all these people chained together, there must be something terrible here.” They showed a profound lack of sensitivity to those people, and to the Chinese community. Now we’re bringing someone to justice.” That was clearly orchestrated and they came up from Washington to be part of that press conference. who had investigated the fraud with the big banks, as if to say, “Here we are. He had all these federal investigators from D.C.

It began with Vance standing before the reporters. I think when you look at that indictment, it was designed to attract the press and be a spectacle. It came after the trial and we were able to include that throughout the whole film.įrom left: Jill Sung, Vera Sung and Thomas Sung in 'Abacus: Small Enough to Jail' directed by Steve James.Ī startling moment is when the Sungs and their employees are subjected to a perp walk. They felt strongly they were innocent, even when we said we would make a real effort to present the case against them if we could get cooperation from the DA’s office. That came through for me loud and clear, and they weren’t afraid of having us tell their story. I believed them to be people of principle and courage and integrity. When I went to New York to film the family, I was just really taken with them. There was an occasional article here and there during the three years between the indictment and the end of the trial, so it seemed pretty important. The New York Times, even The Wall Street Journal wasn’t covering it. That alone was intriguing and no one was covering it. Mark called me and told me the broad details of what had happened - how they discovered the fraud themselves and cooperated, and this is what they were rewarded with, the prosecution.

Mark started to look into it and realized they were the only bank being criminally prosecuted connected to the 2008 financial crisis, which Vance clearly connected it to and steadfastly maintains today. They talked to him about what was happening and this trial that they were going to go to, and they couldn’t believe it. I got involved because producer Mark Mitten had known the family for a decade and is friends with them. How did you get involved with the project? This film and its subject seems to be a departure for you. James talked with MarketWatch about “Abacus.” The documentary follows the events of the trial, and includes interviews with lawyers from the prosecution and defense, jurors, journalists, and most of all, the Sungs themselves. bank to have been prosecuted in connection to the 2008 financial crisis. indicted Abacus on charges of a scheme to falsify loan applications to Fannie Mae, and subjected the Sungs and their employees to a public “chain gang,” forced to walk into the courtroom handcuffed in front of the cameras. In 2012, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. The Sungs’ actions resulted in an investigation of the bank itself, and its leaders. He was promptly fired, and the Sungs - Thomas’s daughters Jill and Vera help run the bank - reported the incident to Fannie Mae, referred the case to the FBI and hired an investigator to root out any more wrongdoing. But in 2009, a loan officer named Ken Yu was found to have falsified documents and accepted bribes by borrowers, setting off the Sungs’ suspicions.

Abacus bank film