LORIDA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO ROBBING CONWAY BANK

United States Attorney W. WALTER WILKINS stated that Eric Lee Scott, age 36, of Florida City, Florida, pled guilty in federal court to unarmed bank robbery, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2113(a). United States District Judge Terry L. Wooten accepted the plea and will sentence Scott at a later date.

On September 11, 2008, Scott entered the Horry County State Bank at 2301 Highway 701 North in Conway, shouting demands for money. Scott gave a note to a teller and required the teller to put money into a small backpack then ran out of the bank. Scott subsequently abandoned the car, and investigators traced it to Scott’s nephew. Scott was later arrested in Florida.

Mr. Wilkins stated the maximum penalty Scott can receive is a fine of $250,000.00 and imprisonment for 20 years.

The case was investigated by agents of the Horry County Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney William E. Day, II, of the Florence office handled the case.

Economic Problems Hinged on 2005 Reform

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has published a study that states the housing mess can be directly linked to the passage of the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Reform, which made it harder for individuals to escape their creditors.

We argue that the 2005 bankruptcy abuse reform (BAR) contributed to the surge in subprime foreclosures that followed its passage. Before BAR, distressed mortgagors could free up income by filing bankruptcy and having their unsecured debts discharged. BAR blocks that maneuver for better-off filers by way of a means test. We identify the effects of BAR using state home equity bankruptcy exemptions; filers in low-exemption states were not very protected before BAR, so they would be less affected by the reform. Difference-in-difference regressions confirm four predictions implied by that identification strategy. Our findings add to research trying to explain the surge in subprime foreclosures and to a broader literature on household bankruptcy demand and credit supply.

Download the full paper here. It explains in detail how foreclosures increased as a result of that legislation.