A Gaston, North Carolina, man robbed a bank, asking for $1, with the hope that he would end up in jail where he could receive medical care.
 
James Richard Verone has been suffering from several medical problems, including a limp in his left foot, carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis and a recently detected protrusion on his chest.  Verone is unemployed after losing his job of 17 years as a Coca Cola deliveryman.  He tried working as a truck driver and in a convenience store, but neither job lasted for long.  He applied for and received food stamps, but they weren’t enough to keep him going.  Without health insurance, Verone could not afford medical treatment.
 
"The pain was beyond the tolerance that I could accept," Verone told the Gaston Gazette. "I kind of hit a brick wall with everything. ... If you don't have your health you don't have anything." 
 
So Verone conjured up his plan to rob a bank.  Before hailing a cab to take him to RBC Bank, he mailed a letter to the local newspaper, listing the Gaston County Jail as his return address.
 
"When you receive this a bank robbery will have been committed by me," Verone wrote in the letter. "This robbery is being committed by me for one dollar. I am of sound mind but not so much sound body."
 
Now, according to news reports, he's in jail and has an appointment with a doctor this week.  He said he's hoping to receive back and foot surgery, and get the protrusion on his chest treated. Then he plans to spend a few years in jail, before getting out in time to collect Social Security and move to the beach. 
 
But because Verone only asked for $1, he was charged with larceny, not bank robbery. If his punishment is not severe enough, he said he will do it again.  He currently has no plans to pay his $2,000 bond.  
 
—Source:  Yahoo.com

Naples, Florida, Bank of America manager Erich Fahrner faced an unusual demand recently:  pay up or watch the bank's furniture be hauled off for sale at public auction.
 
Accompanied by two Collier County sheriff's deputies, attorney Todd Allen presented a court order to Fahrner in a wrongful foreclosure lawsuit filed by his clients Warren and Maureen Nyerges.  According to court documents, the Nyerges purchased their home in 2009 for $165,000 cash, no mortgage.  Somehow Bank of America was convinced they had a mortgage and were behind in their payments and filed for foreclosure.  The bank voluntarily dropped the case two months later after realizing its error, but failed to reimburse the Nyerges for Allen's legal fees, despite an order issued by the court.
 
After numerous attempts to contact the bank and its attorney were unsuccessful, Allen obtained a writ of enforcement to seize the assets of the bank.  "I'm leaving the building with either cash, a check or a whole lot of furniture," attorney Todd Allen said as he entered the bank, leaving a moving crew waiting outside.  After an hour of talks, Allen left with a check for $2,534.
 
"How embarrassing is that?" Fort Myers-based foreclosure defense attorney Kevin Jursinski said with a chuckle.  "Clearly they legally should have paid it off.  It seems like an oversight of BOA or whoever was representing them."
 
"We apologize to Mr. Nyerges that there was a delay in receiving the funds," said Christine Toth, Southeast media relations manager for the bank.  "The original request went to an outside attorney who is no longer in business."
 
—Source:  The Washington Post

A Utah man has been cited on a charge of disorderly conduct after paying for a disputed medical bill with 2,500 pennies.  According to news reports, Jason West went to Basin Clinic prepared to dispute an outstanding $25 bill.  After asking staff members whether they accepted cash, West dumped 2,500 pennies on the counter and demanded that staff count them.
 
Assistant Vernal Police Chief Keith Campbell says the incident served "no legitimate purpose" and upset staff because the pennies were strewn about the counter and floor.  Police later issued West a citation for disorderly conduct, which carries a fine of as much as $140.
 
—Source:  Pensacola News Journal

A Southern California mother has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against a Chuck E. Cheese’s franchise that she claims is operating a gambling business that puts children at risk for developing gambling addictions.
 
San Diego resident Denise Keller filed a class action lawsuit against CEC Entertainment, a company that owns Chuck E. Cheese’s family restaurants, alleging that many of the ticket-dispensing games found in restaurants violate state and federal anti-gambling laws because they are games of chance, not skill.  In addition to damages of not less than $5 million, Keller “seeks restitution from CEC and an injunction prohibiting it from offering these devices to its customers in the future.”
 
The plaintiff accuses the restaurants of operating slot machines and says “[y]oung people are especially vulnerable to the attractions of gambling.” 
 
According to the lawsuit, the games in question come with flashing lights and bright colors but they take only a few seconds to play and require no skill.  “There was no fun involved in the game other than an opportunity to win a prize,” Keller's attorney Eric Benink said. He added, “It’s just pure random luck in terms of spinning out a result. That, we believe, is a slot machine as California penal code spells out.”
 
A spokeswoman for CEC Entertainment, Brenda Holloway, would say only, “Our company policy is that we do not comment on pending litigation.”
 
—Source:  CBSSacramento