JPMorgan Chase In Hot Seat With Criminal Probes, But Will Anybody Do Time?

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/economy/jpmorgan-chase-and-criminal-probes



JPMorgan Chase has been much in the news this week, and not for reasons that give its slick, silver-haired chief Jamie Dimon anything to smile about. But he’s probably going to get the last laugh — one that will take him all the way to the bank, as they say.

The feds are attempting to level civil charges against America's largest bank, which played derivatives casino games that made over $6 billion go up in smoke — poof! — in the infamous London Whale fiasco. At issue is whether the bank dodged regulators and deliberately duped investors. A Senate committee led by Carl Levin issued a massive 301-page report that charged the bank with these maneuvers, and the findings were sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice last April.

It seems that the regulators are going to be very hard-core this time, people! They are seeking an unusual admission of wrongdoing from the megabank, and it looks like they will get it. Not from executives, mind you, but from some of the lower-rung folks involved in the trades. Scary!

Jamie Dimon admits nothing, naturally. He got a pay cut (while simultaneously his octogenerian dad, who works for the bank, got a ginormous raise), but he has held onto his chairmanship in spite of his grossly incompetent management. Earlier this year Mr. Dimon was seen singing his own praises on CNBC and waxing poetic about his bank being in the “forefront of positive social change.”

[Ichingcarpenter]

1. I believe one or two

employees will be arrested.

However, I believe this is a criminal organization and should be attacked with the RICO act.

We have the

LIBOR theft:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libor_scandal

Artificially Inflated Aluminium Prices

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/07/jpmorgan-aluminium-prices-chase-glencore-goldman_n_3718773.html

Silver Scandal"

http://beforeitsnews.com/gold-and-precious-metals/2012/12/jpmorgan-to-implode-silver-scandal-revealed-bill-murphy-2459270.html

Energy Scandal


Credit Card Scandals

http://moneymorning.com/2013/05/06/five-scandals-that-made-jpmorgan-wall-streets-worst-villain/


JPMorgan actually imbedded the cost of the bribes it paid into the finance deal it constructed.

http://moneymorning.com/2011/11/11/how-jpmorgan-aided-and-abetted-the-largest-municipal-bankruptcy-in-u-s-history/


And many more ...however
JP Morgan is the favorite bank of the Administration

http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2011/12/president-barack-obama-wealth.html


I don't expect much except
slapping the wrist with a wet noodle.

[IncessantPerfidy]

2. So when was the last time 'our' Government actually gave a real punishment to one of the real

criminals openly operating in America?

What are the odds of a Federal Judge saying..."Jamie Dimon a jury of your peers has found you guilty on all charges and I sentence you to 25 years without parole to the Federal Pound You in the Ass Prison effective immediately bailiff take him away."

What do you think the real criminals are black or brown or something?

[Ichingcarpenter]

3. Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone 09 August 13

But I'm skeptical it will turn into a real criminal investigation. All of the stories that broke in the last day or two noted the same detail, that Chase has beefed up its estimates for litigation/settlement costs:

As the investigations drag on, the bank is racking up significant legal costs. To help cushion against potentially hefty payouts to the authorities, JPMorgan recorded a $678 million expense for additional litigation reserves in the second quarter, up from $323 million in the same period a year ago, according to the filing on Wednesday.

The bank also estimated it could incur up to $6.8 billion in losses beyond its reserves, nearly $1 billion more than the first quarter of the year.
The government may very well decide to go after Chase in what it considers a big way. It may do the same for Bank of America, and then it may keep going on down the line to other banks, until it has collected a billion dollars or so from all the usual suspects, who were virtually all engaged in the same kinds of schemes, gathering and selling to customers radioactive mortgage bonds they knew were likely to explode, or were ridden with fraud and faulty underwriting.

But to me, these investigations will be meaningless unless one of two things happens, once they reach the inevitable stage of concluding painstakingly-crafted settlements with the inevitable teams of high-priced lawyers for the offending firms:

Someone goes to jail.

The company is ordered to break itself up into smaller pieces.

As to point one, here's the thing. If criminal laws were violated, then the government certainly has discretion to exercise mercy and seek non-criminal sanctions against the individuals responsible. But they can really only do that and not be total hypocrites if they also simultaneously implement leniency programs for ordinary street criminals at the same time.


http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/18827-new-bank-investigations-real-action-or-more-of-the-same

[Fuddnik]

5. Did you notice the key words in the charges?

Investor Fraud.

No charges or punishment for robo-signing fraud. No charges for evicting 10's of millions of homeowners. No charges for running sham restructuring programs designed to steal the house, not help the homeowner stay in their home.

It was only when they blatantly defrauded rich investors with phony designed to fail securities that the got anyone's attention.

[Fuddnik]

4. Fuck no they won't do time.

They are bringing CIVIL charges, not CRIMINAL charges against the banks.

In other words, the Administration is running a protection racket. The Administration extorts a miniscule (by bank asset standards), the banks settle without admitting any wrong doing. Nobody so much as spends a night in jail. The banks continue their criminal behavior. The shareholders pick up the extra cost of doing business. The CEO, Board, and executives keep their obscene salaries and bonuses. The banks invent new fees to cover the cost of doing business.

There is no incentive to prevent future criminal behavior.

Rinse, repeat. Lather, rinse, repeat.

It's a protection racket. It's the APPEARANCE of doing something. Welcome to Corporate Fascism.

[djean111]

6. No.

It will be lots of fuss for the media, some easily paid fines (I wouldn't be surprised to see fines deducted from taxes, at this point), and JPM will continue on its merry way.

[Vinnie From Indy]

7. It seems quite obvious that the masters of Wall Street and the DOJ

have finally realized that they need to throw some bodies to the wolves. It has worked this way for centuries. Some low level dumbass that signed on to the illegal activities will be prosecuted and spend a few years in prison. I think the DOJ is not completely oblivious to the rising criticism of average Americans that there appears to be different levels of justice in America. Even the late night comedians are cracking jokes about the criminals on Wall Street going uncharged and unpunished.

By throwing some low level cogs to the mob, Wall Street and the DOJ can relieve the growing discontent and anger at Wall Street. In short, look for a few prosecutions of low level people while those at the top remain untouchable.

[hughee99]

8. Someone may go to jail for a limited amount of time. I'm sure Morgan's top execs

will sit in a room and decide who that's going to be (hint, if you're in the room, it's not you). Then they'll systematically scrub any info that might suggest that the person was following someone's instructions or that they were making someone aware of what they were doing.