New York Paralegal Blog

  The JPMorgan Chase case, which involved a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA), serves as a powerful example of how the U.S. government handles corporate misconduct without a full-blown trial. Think of a DPA like a legal "time-out" for a company. Instead of going to court and facing a criminal conviction, the company agrees to a strict set of conditions. If they successfully meet all the requirements, the government dismisses the criminal charges. The Offense: Deceiving the Market JPMorgan's DPA stemmed from two major schemes to defraud the market. The core of the problem was a trading practice known as spoofing. Spoofing is a type of market manipulation where traders place a large number of orders to buy or sell a financial product with no intention of letting them go through. They create a false appearance of high demand or supply to trick other traders into making moves that benefit them. Once the market reacts, they quickly cancel their fake orders and p...

For many Americans, the history of slavery feels distant, an injustice of the past. Yet, its legacy continues to haunt our present through stark racial inequities in wealth, health, and opportunity. This isn't a coincidence; it's a direct result of systems of oppression that were built and profited from by corporations that still exist today. It's time for these powerful, "artificial persons" to be held accountable. A Broken Promise and Corporate Complicity The first attempt at reparations in America was the promise of "40 acres and a mule". A federal order issued during the Civil War, it offered land to formerly enslaved people to help them achieve economic independence. But this promise was brutally short-lived. After President Lincoln’s assassination, the order was reversed, snatching away this opportunity and forcing millions into a cycle of poverty and exploitation. While the government betrayed this promise, major corporations were acti...

I can still picture it: Chemical Bank, the institution that would eventually merge with Chase in what was touted as a "merger of equals." Back then, I was at the 72nd and First Avenue branch in Manhattan. One particular day, feeling good about my sales abilities, I was talking with my manager. I asked her, "Who's a major client we've always wanted, but haven't gotten?" She quickly replied: Sotheby's. The renowned auction house, right in our neighborhood. "We've been trying to get our foot in the door for years," she admitted, "but we've never been successful." Years. That word stuck with me. "Oh yeah?" I thought. "Let me give it a try." I picked up the phone. I called Sotheby's, and simply asked to be transferred to the person who handled their business banking. To my surprise, I was immediately put through to the Chief Financial Officer, Mary A. Walling. "Ms. Walling," I began...

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of FORDIN FRANCOIS, 26, a former J.P. Morgan Chase (“Chase”) personal banker, for his role in the theft of more than $700,000 from multiple Chase account holders’ bank accounts over a six-month period.

WASHINGTON—A former financial services executive was indicted yesterday for his participation in a far-reaching conspiracy and scheme to defraud related to bidding for contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other municipal finance contracts, the Department of Justice announced.

Earlier today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York filed a criminal complaint against FalconStor Software, Inc. (“FalconStor”) alleging that the company conspired to pay more than $300,000 in bribes to executives of J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (“J.P. Morgan Chase”) to obtain over $12 million in electronic storage licencing contracts. FalconStor was also charged with conspiring to falsify its corporate books and records to cover up the bribery scheme.

Two days after JP Morgan Chase & Co revealed it lost billions of dollars on bad trades, CEO Jamie Dimon said the embattled bank was "sloppy" and had committed errors in judgment.

Members of Conspiracy Stole from at least 30 Bank Accounts Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of 37 individuals in connection with a forged check and money laundering ring based in Brooklyn that compromised at least 30 bank accounts at JP Morgan Chase Bank (“Chase Bank”) and Citibank, and stole more than $150,000. All of the defendants are charged with Conspiracy, and the ringleaders are additionally charged with Grand Larceny, Money Laundering, and in some cases, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument and Identity Theft.[1]

Complaint Charges Use Of MERS By Bank Of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, And Wells Fargo Resulted In Fraudulent Foreclosure Filings NEW YORK – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today filed a lawsuit against several of the nation’s largest banks charging that the creation and use of a private national mortgage electronic registry system known as MERS has resulted in a wide range of deceptive and fraudulent foreclosure filings in New York state and federal courts, harming homeowners and undermining the integrity of the judicial foreclosure process. The lawsuit asserts that employees and agents of Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, acting as "MERS

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the guilty plea of HAO “HOWIE” WANG, 28, for stealing more than $1.1 million from JPMorgan Chase & Co. (“JPMC”) and stealing the identities of four victims. WANG pled guilty to Grand Larceny in the First Degree, Identity Theft in the First Degree, Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, Forgery in the Second Degree, and Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree.

WASHINGTON – JP Morgan Chase & Co. has entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve the company’s role in anticompetitive activity in the municipal bond investments market and has agreed to pay a total of $228 million in restitution, penalties and disgorgement to federal and state agencies, the Department of Justice announced today.   As part of its agreement with the department, JPMorgan admits, acknowledges and accepts responsibility for illegal, anticompetitive conduct by its former employees.   According to the non-prosecution agreement, from 2001 through 2006, certain former JPMorgan employees at its municipal derivatives desk, entered into unlawful agreements to manipulate the bidding process and rig bids on municipal investment and related contracts. These contracts were used to invest the proceeds of, or manage the risks associated with, bond issuances by municipalities and other public entities.   “By entering into i...

Indictments Charge 28 Individuals with Counterfeit Check Fraud    Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of 28 individuals in connection with “Operation White Rover,” a forged check and identity theft ring based in Brooklyn that compromised bank accounts at TD Bank, JP Morgan Chase Bank and Citibank locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Charges in the indictment include Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, Identity Theft in the First Degree, Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, and Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree. The crimes charged in the indictment total 99 counts in two separate conspiracies: 88 counts arising from the conspiracy against TD Bank, which occurred between August 2009 and April 2010, and 10 counts from the conspiracy against JP Morgan Chase Bank, which occurred b...

SEC Settles Enforcement Proceedings against J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup J.P. Morgan Chase Agrees to Pay $135 Million to Settle SEC Allegations that It Helped Enron Commit Fraud Citigroup Agrees to Pay $120 Million to Settle SEC Allegations that It Helped Enron and Dynegy Commit Fraud Washington, D.C., July 28, 2003 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission today instituted and settled enforcement proceedings against two major financial institutions, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup, Inc., for their roles in Enron Corp.'s manipulation of its financial statements. Each institution helped Enron mislead its investors by characterizing what were essentially loan proceeds as cash from operating activities. The proceeding against Citigroup also resolves the Commission's charges stemming from the assistance Citigroup provided Dynegy Inc. in manipulating that company's financial statements through similar conduct. As to J.P. Morgan Chase, the Commission filed a ...

RIVERSIDE, CA—A former official with Chase Bank has been found guilty of disclosing the existence of a suspicious activity report (SAR) filed with federal officials, and then soliciting thousands of dollars in bribes to help the borrower deal with a possible criminal investigation related to the illegally disclosed SAR. Frank E. Mendoza, 45, of Victorville, was convicted yesterday afternoon of three counts of bank bribery and one count of unlawfully disclosing a SAR. The federal jury deliberated about 30 minutes before issuing its verdict, which included a not guilty finding on a charge of attempted economic extortion.

Claiming she's tarnishing the financial industry's reputation, ex-Citibanker Debrahlee Lorenzana's current employer, JPMorgan Chase, now threatens to fire her for speaking to the press, the Voice learned today. The real reason why JP Morgan Chase wants Debrahlee Lorenzana to shut up is probably the same reason that the executives of the now defunct Long Island brokerage Lew Lieberbaum & Co., wanted Kimberly Casper, Deanna Caliendo and Linette Cinelli to shut up. You see when people go public with sexual harassment complaints against a business it inspires other victims to come forward, as it did in the case of Kimberly Casper, Deanna Caliendo, and Linette Cinelli. Their public outcry against sexual harassment made international headline news causing others at the now defunct Lew Lieberbaum & Co., to come forward filing multiple complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and as a result of all the media attention and the multiple complaints comin...

Bank Subjected Women to Wage Discrimination and a Sexually Hostile Environment, Then Fired Employee for Complaining, Agency Charges CLEVELAND - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today that JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. violated federal law by subjecting female employees to wage discrimination, a sexually hostile environment and retaliation at its Polaris Park facility in Columbus, Ohio. According to the EEOC's suit (Case No. 1:09-cv-00711), filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, the EEOC charges that since April 2007, shortly after Aimee Doneyhue was hired, she noticed that women were subjected to terms and conditions of employment which negatively impacted their compensation, including their ability to earn commissions and bonuses. Additionally, the EEOC says, women were subjected to verbal sexual harassment. Finally, the EEOC says that Chase Bank fired Doneyhue for complaining about the foregoing practi...

Bank Subjected Women to Wage Discrimination and a Sexually Hostile Environment, Then Fired Employee for Complaining, Agency Charges CLEVELAND - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today that JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. violated federal law by subjecting female employees to wage discrimination, a sexually hostile environment and retaliation at its Polaris Park facility in Columbus, Ohio. According to the EEOC's suit (Case No. 1:09-cv-00711), filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, the EEOC charges that since April 2007, shortly after Aimee Doneyhue was hired, she noticed that women were subjected to terms and conditions of employment which negatively impacted their compensation, including their ability to earn commissions and bonuses. Additionally, the EEOC says, women were subjected to verbal sexual harassment. Finally, the EEOC says that Chase Bank fired Doneyhue for complaining about the foregoing practi...

By: Joel Irving Anthony J. Lynch filed a civil lawsuit against JP Morgan Chase & Company in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, (2:08-cv-13059-DML-SDP) on July 15, 2008. In the civil complaint Anthony J, Lynch alleges (among other things) that his direct supervisor Tim Dolan (Acting on behalf of Chase) hired prostitutes (From “Craig’s List”) to service a group of male employees, who work for Chase’s mortgage division. Join me this Sunday at 10:00 a.m. as we talk about workplace sexual harassment and this federal lawsuit against JP Morgan Chase & Company. Click on the link to get to the show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Joel-Irving

By: Joel Irving JP Morgan Chase (through a mortgage company it owns) allegedly victimized a Nigerian couple by unlawfully breaking and entering into the couple's home and stealing everything they owned. They removed family heirlooms, furniture and even food. The egregious actions of EMC Mortgage Corp., and its parent company, JP Morgan Chase are being attributed to a so-called mix-up on a foreclosure action against the previous owners of the house. EMC Mortgage Corp., and its parent company JP Morgan Chase have apologized to Bobo and Joy Dickson, however the Dicksons are suing Field Asset Services Inc., (who were hired by EMC to do the breaking and entering) for failure to return their property and compensatory damages. (See, Austin American-Statesman )