JPMorgan Learned ‘Spoof’ Method From Bear Stearns, U.S. Says
- Two Bear traders brought ‘iceberg’ technique after 2008 tie-up
- In rare move, U.S. invokes RICO in charging three bank traders
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When JPMorgan Chase & Co. took over Bear Stearns more than a decade ago, it got two traders with a new trick.
Their strategy: Use multiple fake orders to manipulate the prices of precious metals futures. The maneuver, adopted by the traders’ new colleagues at JPMorgan, became part of a spoofing and rigging campaign so expansive that federal authorities have now likened it to a criminal enterprise operating inside the U.S.’s biggest bank.