DOJ, FBI commence criminal probe of JPMorgan's $2B gaffe: Report

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New York have begun a criminal probe of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)'s $2 billion trading loss, a person familiar with the matter said. The U.S. is looking into what if any criminal wrongdoing occurred in relation to the losses the bank reported last week, said the person, who declined to be identified because the matter isn't public. The inquiry is in its most preliminary stage, the person said. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates derivatives trading, are also examining New York-based JPMorgan's trading activities, according to people familiar with those probes. JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said on May 10 that the bank made “egregious” mistakes and that the losses of about $2 billion tied to synthetic credit securities were “self-inflicted.” Joseph Evangelisti, a spokesman for the bank, didn't immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment. Ellen Davis, a spokeswoman for Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, declined to comment. Robert Nardoza, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch in Brooklyn, where JPMorgan has some of its operations, didn't return calls seeking comment. The probe was reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal. --Bloomberg News--