U.S. Department
of Justice
JPMorgan Chase & Co Deferred Prosecution Agreement
PENDING CRIMINAL DIVISION CASES
JPMorgan Chase & Co., Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA)
Court Docket No.: 20-CR-175
Court Assigned: This case is assigned to U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, Abraham Ribicoff Federal Building, United States Courthouse, 450 Main Street, Hartford, Connecticut 06103.
On September 24, 2020, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPMorgan) entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the Department of Justice and agreed to pay a total criminal monetary amount of $920,203,609 in a criminal monetary penalty, criminal disgorgement, and victim compensation. The DPA arises from criminal charges related to two discrete schemes to defraud involving unlawful trading activity in the markets for precious metals futures contracts, the markets for U.S. Treasury futures contracts, and the secondary (cash) market for U.S. Treasury notes and bonds.
According to court documents filed as part of the DPA, between approximately March 2008 and August 2016, numerous traders and salespeople on JPMorgan’s precious metals desk located in New York, London, and Hong Kong engaged in a scheme to defraud in connection with the purchase and sale of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium futures contracts (collectively, precious metals futures contracts) that traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (NYMEX) and Commodity Exchange Inc. (COMEX), which are commodities exchanges operated by the CME Group, Inc. In tens of thousands of instances, traders on the precious metals desk placed orders to buy and sell precious metals futures contracts with the intent to cancel those orders before execution, including in an attempt to profit by deceiving other market participants through injecting false and misleading information concerning the existence of genuine supply and demand for precious metals futures contracts. In addition, on certain occasions, traders on the precious metals desk engaged in trading activity that was intended to deliberately trigger or defend barrier options held by JPMorgan and thereby avoid losses.
Also according to admissions and court documents, between approximately April 2008 and January 2016, traders on JPMorgan’s U.S. Treasuries desk located in New York and London engaged in a scheme to defraud in connection with the purchase and sale of U.S. Treasury futures contracts that traded on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), which is a commodities exchange operated by the CME Group, Inc., and of U.S. Treasury notes and bonds traded in the secondary cash market for (the U.S. Treasury futures, notes, and bonds, collectively, U.S. Treasury Products). In thousands of instances, traders on the U.S. Treasuries desk placed orders to buy and sell U.S. Treasury Products with the intent to cancel those orders before execution, including in an attempt to profit by deceiving other market participants through injecting false and misleading information concerning the existence of genuine supply and demand for U.S. Treasury Products
Under the terms of the DPA, the JPMorgan has agreed to pay a combined $920,203,609 in a criminal monetary penalty ($436,431,811), criminal disgorgement ($172,034,790), and victim compensation ($311,737,008), with the criminal monetary penalty credited for any payments made to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and with criminal disgorgement credited for $10 million paid to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). JPMorgan has also agreed to, among other things, continue to cooperate with the department in any ongoing or future investigations and prosecutions, to enhance its compliance program where necessary and appropriate, and to report to the department regarding remediation and implementation of the compliance program.
To facilitate the efficient payment of compensation to victims in this matter the Department will direct the claims administrator and will have sole discretion to determine how the victim compensation amount will be dispersed. Please complete the below Victim Impact Statement with the requisite information to submit your claim.
For more information about the Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA), please see below:
Press Release
JPMorgan Chase & Co., DPA
Criminal Information
For more information on related cases, please see below:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/precious-metals-trader-pleads-guilty-conspiracy-and-spoofing-charges
Victim Impact Statement: If you would like to submit a Victim Impact Statement you may do so by mailing the Victim Impact Statement below to: Victim Witness Unit, U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section, 10th & Constitution Avenue, NW, Bond Building, Room 4416, Washington, DC 20530. You also may submit the Victim Impact Statement via email at Victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov or by fax at: (202) 514-3708.
The information on this website will be updated as new developments arise in the case. If you have any questions, please call the Victim Assistance Line toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or email us at victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov.
Presumption of Innocence: It is important to keep in mind that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty and that presumption requires both the court and our office to take certain steps to ensure that justice is served.
Crime Victims’ Rights Act and Right to Retain Counsel: The Crime Victims’ Rights Act (18 U.S.C. § 3771) applies only to victims of the counts charged in federal court, and thus individuals may not be able to exercise all of these rights if the crime of which the individual is a victim was not charged. Section 377I(c)(2) of this Act requires that we advise you that you have the right to retain counsel. Although the statute specifically sets forth your right to seek advice of an attorney with regard to your rights under the statute, there is no requirement that you retain counsel. The Government may not recommend any specific counsel, nor can the Government (or the Court) pay for counsel to represent you. Government attorneys represent the United States.
If you elect to obtain counsel to represent your interests, please have your attorney notify this office in writing at: U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section, 10th & Constitution Avenue, NW, Bond Building, 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20530, Attention: Victim Witness Unit; fax: (202) 514-3708; or email: victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov. If you elect not to retain counsel to represent your interests, you do not need to do anything.