Quick Answer: Medical debt can drive people to extreme measures, as demonstrated by 59-year-old James Richard Verone who robbed a North Carolina bank for $1 to get arrested and receive jail healthcare. Verone’s case highlights how unaffordable medical care forces desperate solutions, though intentionally committing crimes is never recommended.
Earlier this month about 20 miles west of Charlotte, North Carolina in Gastonia, North Carolina an RBC Bank was robbed on 500 S. New Hope Road.
This is no ordinary robbery. Suspect, 59-year-old James Richard Verone entered the bank at 1 p.m. where he handed a teller a note reading “This is a bank robbery…”
Verone then requested a single dollar ($1!) and took a seat inside the bank awaiting the police’s arrival.
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Police reports show he did not have a weapon and only entered the bank because he needed medical attention. His solution for his medical needs was to get arrested and get health care while in jail.
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According to news stories, so far he has been charged with larceny and being held under a $5,000 secured bond in Gaston County Jail.
“He thought jail was the best place he could go for medical care and a roof over his head.
Verone is hoping for a three-year sentence.
He’d then be able to collect Social Security when he got out, and says he’d head for the beach.”
It’s been said that desperate times call for desperate measures but please, don’t try this at home.
Source: WCSC Live 5 News and WCNC NewsChannel 36 News
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