And in this case, we couldn't get in there. One is, of course, when you go into a situation with a film that takes place around a trial you sincerely hope be able to be in the courtroom and sometimes you can get that. It will also be aired on television on PBS’s Frontline in the fall.James: There's several struggles with a film like this. She now works at Sung & Co., PC, her father’s real estate law firm, and is a director of Abacus bank.Ībacus: Small Enough to Jail was an “official selection” at a number of film festivals around the world, including Toronto, Sydney, Hong Kong, and Los Angeles. Vera worked for the Brooklyn DA’s office for two-and-a-half years after graduating from law school. Law students need to learn that “if you have a case that shouldn’t be prosecuted, if there’s no evidence, then you shouldn’t go forward,” Chanterelle says. And then racism-all of that seeps in whether its subconscious or overt and conscious.”Ĭhantarelle says that the lessons she learned when she was a student in the criminal law clinic taught by Associate Clinical Professor Evangeline Sarda helped her come to terms with what was happening with her family. “When you’re in a position of power like the district attorney,” Chanterelle says, “and unfortunately you’re not focused on integrity and appropriate use of discretion, you will be swayed by things like politics and try to make a case out of something like this to make a name for yourself, to be the only prosecutor to have prosecuted a bank after the financial crisis, for example. She left eighteen months later for a job at the New York City Department of Investigation. Chanterelle, in fact, had been working for the Manhattan DA for seven years when Vance took over and started prosecuting her family’s bank. “If you have a case that shouldn’t be prosecuted, if there’s no evidence, then you shouldn’t go forward.” -Chanterelle Sung ’04īoth Vera and Chanterelle had spent part of their careers in DA offices. “And here we are,” Vera says, “a small community bank serving the immigrant community with no defaults-literally less than half a percent of our loans defaulted, and we discovered the wrongdoing in the first place and reported it to law enforcement-how is it that we were getting prosecuted?” The too-big-to-fail banks got off with a non-prosecution or a deferred prosecution agreement and a fine. Their attempt to comply with the law cost them dearly-not only $10 million in legal fees, but also mental and emotional anguish, theirs as well as their innocent employees’. The Sungs’ ordeal began when bank officials fired an employee for embezzlement and alerted the authorities. The Sungs attended a special screening at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline June 18, after which BC Law Professor Brian Quinn moderated a panel discussion. Vera and Chanterelle Sung are featured in the film as is their father Thomas Sung, who founded Abacus in 1984 and still serves as chair. It was directed by award-winning filmmaker Steve James ( Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters) in collaboration with PBS’s investigative documentary series Frontline. Chantarelle Sung ’04 Above: Vera ’90, Jill, and Thomas Sung at their bank in Manhattan’s Chinatown.Ībacus: Small Enough to Jail depicts the family’s battle to clear their bank’s name-a multiyear defense effort that cost them millions. Chantarelle Sung ’04 Above: Vera ’90, Jill, and Thomas Sung at their bank in Manhattan’s Chinatown.
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