Do we ever learn?

Flicking through the internet tonight i came across a story,  the story was nearly 200 years old but could so easily been written in todays press.

This is the piece in London24 :

"A Romford banker fled the country in 1828, leaving a trail of misery behind him.
Rowland Stephenson entered the family bank, Remingtons, when he left school – Eton of course – and lived a lavish lifestyle.
Around 1816, he bought Marshalls, a small country house off North Street Romford.
He spent huge sums furnishing the house - £20,000 on art work alone.
Although there was no railway to London, Stephenson managed to commute – and was often seen on horseback riding through Romford at 8 a.m.
Marshalls became famous for its glittering weekend parties, which were long remembered in Romford.
But Stephenson always rounded up his guests and made them attend St Edwards’s Church in the Market Place on Sundays"

It then goes on to say :

"Romford shopkeepers had been happy to extend credit to such a wealthy customer, even though Stephenson was slow in settling his bills.
The “fugitive banker”, as he was nicknamed, left many local businesses with big debts.
Stephenson was declared bankrupt, expelled from parliament (where he had never made a speech) and his properties sold."

 That was nearly 200 years ago ( although it appears at least they took some action against the crook unlike these days where we bail them out).