It was the summer of 2011, a 59-year-old North Carolina man staged a bank robbery for just $1, in hopes of receiving state healthcare for several physical ailments in prison.

On June 9, James Verone of Gastonia rode to an RBC bank and handed a note to a clerk. “This is a bank robbery, please only give me one dollar,” the note read, ABC News reported at the time. Verone also claimed that he had a gun with him.

After handing over the note, Verone told the clerk, “I’ll be sitting right over there in the chair waiting for the police.” He then sat in the lobby and patiently waited for the police to arrive.

Before the robbery, Verone had reportedly sent a letter to the Gaston Gazette, informing them of his plan. “When you receive this, a bank robbery will have been committed by me for one dollar,’ he wrote, adding, “I am of sound mind but not so much of sound body.”

 

Verone also asked the publication to send a reporter to interview him in jail. He later told the reporter that he had lost his job as a Coca-Cola deliveryman after 17 years, and thus had no health insurance.

He then worked part-time as a convenience store clerk and driver, reportedly depleting his savings. Although Verone applied for disability benefits, he was denied them, and qualified for food stamps.

He said he suffered from immense pain from two slipped discs, arthritic joints, carpal tunnel, and foot pain from a left foot injury.

With no savings and health insurance, Verone believed prison was his last option for medical treatment.

Verone was sent to Gaston County Jail and charged with stealing from a person, as prosecutors did not think they could hold up a bank robbery charge for just a dollar.

But the lighter charger carried a maximum prison sentence of 12 months, not the three years Verone required for full treatment.

The 59-year-old reportedly told media outlets that if he did not receive three years, he would commit another crime, according to NowIKnow.

A report by Witnessia stated that Verone planned on staying incarcerated until age 62, when he would qualify for Social Security and Medicare.

Nurses reportedly checked on Verone, and an appointment with a doctor was booked.

James Verone’s unusual robbery in hopes of accessing healthcare continues to resonate with US citizens to this day.

Speaking of which, a user on X, formerly Twitter, shared Verone’s story on the platform recently, eliciting a range of responses from social media users.

“Everything one can get for free in prison must be a basic constitutional right for every citizen. Law-abiding citizens should never be entitled to less than what criminals are entitled to, otherwise crime does pay,” one user’s comment read.

Someone else said, “This is America .. he’s not wrong it works exactly like this. If everyone did this, it would be a larger tax burden than subsidized healthcare.”

A third user’s tweet read, “This is horrible if it’s true. Not what he did but the fact that he had to go through that for medical care. What a tragedy. And what do free citizens get if you get it all free when incarcerated. Something is broken and needs fixing ASAP. Otherwise? Your guess is as good as as mine…”

 

“I believe it. What A sad sad country we live in when in 2026 it’s no different than when in 2011. Very sad,” yet another user chimed in.