U.S. charges another ex-JP Morgan executive with alleged market manipulation

By Koh Gui Qing and Lawrence Delevingne | Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Department of Justice has charged another former JPMorgan Chase & Co executive with alleged racketeering and manipulating precious metals prices between 2008 and 2016, the latest in a string of similar prosecutions.

The indictment against Jeffrey Ruffo, who is also charged with other federal crimes including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, is the result of an “ongoing investigation”, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

Ruffo is the sixth person to be charged with alleged fraud in connection to JPMorgan’s precious metals desk.

The case relates to spoofing, which involves placing bids to buy or offers to sell contracts with the intent to cancel them before execution, allowing spoofers to influence prices. In recent years there has a been a surge in spoofing related prosecutions in the United States by the Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Ruffo could not immediately be reached for comment.

A JPMorgan spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for a comment. The U.S. bank has said in recent regulatory filings that it is cooperating with various investigations relating to its metals trading practices…Full Story