Article: Racketeering Law Makes Its Return to Wall Street

Article - Media

Racketeering Law Makes Its Return to Wall Street

Peter J. Henning

The New York Times 24 October 2019

Prosecutors have not brought a case under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, against Wall Street traders since the investment firm Princeton Newport Partners was indicted in the mid-1980s. The RICO charges filed recently against three traders at JPMorgan Chase indicate that prosecutors may be resurrecting the law to target white-collar defendants.

Prosecutors accused Michael Nowak, who was the head of precious metals trading at the bank, along with Gregg Smith and Christopher Jordan, of organizing the precious metals desk as a RICO enterprise to engage in “spoofing,” as well as wire and bank fraud in which JPMorgan and its customers were the victims

Spoofing,” which was made a crime by the Dodd-Frank Act, happens when traders are “bidding or offering with the intent to cancel the bid or offer before execution.”

Article: Three J.P. Morgan precious metals traders charged as criminal probe continues

Article - Media

Three J.P. Morgan precious metals traders charged as criminal probe continues

Dawn Giel

CNBC, 16 September 2019

Federal prosecutors on Monday accused three J.P. Morgan precious metals traders, including the global head of base and precious metals trading, of participating in a racketeering conspiracy in connection with a multiyear scheme to manipulate the markets and defraud customers.

The alleged scheme saw the nation’s largest bank by assets profit handsomely, while investors suffered losses.

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Article: Another ex-JPMorgan precious metals trader pleads guilty to ‘spoofing,’ is cooperating with Feds

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Another ex-JP Morgan precious metals trader pleads guilty to ‘spoofing,’ is cooperating with Feds

Dawn Giel

CNBC, 26 August 2019

Key Points
  • A former J.P. Morgan precious metals traders pleaded guilty Tuesday to criminal charges of manipulating the precious metals markets for nine years.
  • Christian Trunz, 34, of London is cooperating with an ongoing federal criminal investigation.
  • The Justice Department is conducting multiple criminal investigations into big banks with the cooperation of traders who have pleaded guilty to spoofing-related crimes.

Article: Another ex-JP Morgan precious metals trader pleads guilty to ‘spoofing,’ is cooperating with Feds

Article - Media

Another ex-JP Morgan precious metals trader pleads guilty to ‘spoofing,’ is cooperating with Feds

Dawn Giel

CNBC, 20 August 2019

Another former J.P. Morgan precious metals trader pleaded guilty Tuesday to criminal charges of manipulating the precious metals markets for nine years, marking the latest conviction in the Justice Department’s crackdown in the commodities markets.

Christian Trunz, 34, of London is cooperating with an ongoing federal criminal investigation, the Justice Department said. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of spoofing in the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.

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