JPMorgan Sued by Louisiana Police Pension Plan Over Loss

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) was sued by a Louisiana police pension fund for alleged securities fraud tied to a trading loss of at least $2 billion.

The Louisiana Municipal Police Employees Retirement System claimed the biggest U.S. bank and top officials including Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon misled investors about its risk management and financial condition from February 2010 to May 2012.

“Defendants made false and misleading statements and concealed material information relating to the company’s trading practices, hedging of risk, risk management, and exposure to risk of loss,” according to the complaint filed today in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

The police pension plan is seeking class-action, or group, status on behalf of all who bought JPMorgan Chase common stock from February 2010 to May 2012, a number which may be in the tens of thousands, according to the complaint. It is also seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

Joseph Evangelisti, a spokesman for the New York-based bank, declined to comment on the allegations.

In May, Dimon announced the lender lost $2 billion as a result of “egregious mistakes” by its Chief Investment Office. Ina Drew, who led that office, retired after Dimon’s announcement and was replaced by Matt James.

The case is Louisiana Municipal Police Employees Retirement System v. JPMorgan Chase & Co., 12-cv-4729, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Harris in Chicago at aharris16@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net