Pigs Get Fat, But Hogs Get Slaughtered #JPMC REALLY? REALLY?

 

JPMorgan Chase under scrutiny

9:49 PM, Jul. 3, 2012  |  

JPMorgan Chase has another headache.
Energy regulators are investigating whether the bank manipulated electricity markets in California and the Midwest, resulting in higher prices and possibly millions of dollars in improper payments to JPMorgan generators.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said in court documents this week that bidding practices in JPMorgan's commodities business “may have been designed to manipulate” the markets.
The regulators said they have been investigating JPMorgan since August.
The commission generally does not make investigations public, but on Monday it filed papers in federal court in Washington to try to force the bank to hand over 25 emails that regulators want to examine.
JPMorgan says the emails are privileged.
Spokeswoman Jennifer Zuccarelli said the bank believes that it has “complied in all respects with the law.”
“We welcome the court's assistance in resolving this dispute over documents,” she said.
JPMorgan is still dealing with a surprise $2 billion trading loss that has damaged its reputation and that of its chief executive, Jamie Dimon.
He has apologized before Congress for the loss, which the bank says came in an effort to manage financial risk.
JPMorgan disclosed the power investigation in a regulatory filing two months ago, when it said it was “responding to requests for information in connection with an investigation.”
The investigation is part of a broader pledge by the energy regulators to crack down on price gouging. Since December, the commission has disclosed similar investigations against Barclays and Deutsche Bank.

Whistleblowers Win $46.5 In Foreclosure Settlement

Whistleblowers Win $46.5M In Foreclosure Settlement

Nation's 5 Largest Mortgage Lenders Part Of Settlement

James O'Toole

POSTED: 3:12 am MDT July 2, 2012

UPDATED: 4:27 am MDT July 2, 2012

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Getting served with foreclosure papers made Lynn Szymoniak rich.While she couldn't have known it at the time, that day in 2008 led to her uncovering widespread fraud on the part of some of the country's biggest banks, and ultimately taking home $18 million as a result of her lawsuits against them.Szymoniak is one of six Americans who won big in the national foreclosure settlement, finalized earlier this year, as a result of whistleblower suits. In total, they collected $46.5 million, according to the Justice Department. In the settlement, the nation's five largest mortgage lenders --Bank of America, Wells Fargo,JPMorgan, Citigroup and Ally Financial -- agreed to pay $5 billion in fines and committed to roughly $20 billion more in refinancing and mortgage modifications for borrowers.A judge signed off on the agreement in April, and in May -- Szymoniak received her cut."I recognize that mine's a very, very happy ending," she said. "I know there are plenty of people who have tried as hard as I have and won't see these kinds of results."Whistleblower suits stem from the False Claims Act, which allows private citizens to file lawsuits on behalf of the U.S. when they have knowledge that the government is being defrauded. These citizens are then entitled to collect a portion of any penalties assessed in their case.The act was originally passed in 1863, during a time when government officials were concerned that suppliers to the Union Army during the Civil War could be defrauding them.In 1986, Congress modified the law to make it easier for whistleblowers to bring cases and giving them a larger share of any penalties collected. Whistleblowers can now take home between 15% and 30% of the sums collected in their cases.In the cases addressed in the foreclosure settlement, the whistleblowers revealed that banks were gaming federal housing programs by failing to comply with their terms or submitting fraudulent documents.In Szymoniak's case alone, the government collected $95 million based on her allegations that the banks had been using false documents to prove ownership of defaulted mortgages for which they were submitting insurance claims to the Federal Housing Administration.The FHA is a self-funded government agency that offers insurance on qualifying mortgages to encourage home ownership. In the event of a default on an FHA-insured mortgage, the FHA pays out a claim to the lender.Szymoniak's case was only partially resolved by the foreclosure settlement, and she could be in line for an even larger payout when all is said and done.As an attorney specializing in white-collar crime, the 63-year-old Floridian was well-placed to spot an apparent forgery on one of the documents in her foreclosure case, one she saw repeated in dozens of others she examined later."At this point, the banks are incredibly powerful in this country, but you just have to get up every morning and do what you can," she said.The other five whistleblowers in the settlement came from the industry side, putting their careers at risk by flagging the banks' questionable practices.Kyle Lagow, who won $14.6 million in the settlement, worked as a home appraiser in Texas for LandSafe, a subsidiary of Countrywide Financial. He accused the company in a lawsuit of deliberately inflating home appraisals in order to collect higher claims from the FHA, and said he was fired after making complaints internally.Gregory Mackler, who won $1 million, worked for a company subcontracted by Bank of America to assist homeowners pursuing modifications through the government's Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP. Under HAMP, the government offers banks incentive payments to support modifications.Mackler said Bank of America violated its agreement with the government by deliberately preventing qualified borrowers from securing HAMP modifications, steering them toward foreclosure or more costly modifications from which it could make more money. He, too, claims to have been fired after complaining internally.There's also Victor Bibby and Brian Donnelly, executives from a Georgia mortgage services firm who accused the banks of overcharging veterans whose mortgages were guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, thereby increasing their default risk. Bibby and Donnelly won $11.7 million in the settlement; their attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.Shayne Stevenson, an attorney who represented both Lagow and Mackler, said the two weren't aware of possible rewards when they first brought their evidence to his firm."The reality of it is that most of the time, whistleblowers don't even know about the False Claims Act -- they don't know they can make money," Stevenson said. Both his clients, Stevenson added, "just wanted the government to know about this fraud, so they deserve every penny that they got."A Bank of America spokesman declined to comment on individual cases, but said the national settlement was "part of our ongoing strategy to put these issues, particularly these legacy issues with Countrywide, behind us." BofA acquired mortgage lender Countrywide in 2008, thereby incurring the firm's legal liabilities.The other banks involved either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.While the whistleblowers in the settlement scored big paydays in the end, the road wasn't easy. Stevenson said his clients "were pushed to the brink" after raising their concerns, struggling to find work and beset by financial problems."They were facing evictions, foreclosure, running away from bills, trying to deal with creditors that were coming after them," Stevenson said. "This went on and on and on, and this is part and parcel of what happens to whistleblowers."For Robert Harris, a former assistant vice president in JPMorgan's Chase Prime division, the experience was similar.Harris accused the bank of failing to assist borrowers seeking HAMP modifications and knowingly submitting false claims for government insurance based on wrongful foreclosures. He was stymied when he tried to complain internally, and says he was fired for speaking out.While Harris ended up with a $1.2 million payout in the settlement, the father of five says he's been blacklisted within the industry and exhausted by the ordeal."It completely turned my life upside down," he said. "I'm trying to raise my kids, recover from a divorce, recover from the loss of my career -- it just comes to down to surviving and putting this to an end.""I guarantee the other whistleblowers, too, have sacrificed a lot," he added. "But to be able to sit back and sleep at night is worth it."

Copyright CNN 2012

#JPMC Wouldn't GIVE ME A LOAN FOR WATER IF I WAS SET ON FIRE.

#JMPC  Wouldn't Work Out A Loan With Me For Water If I Was Set On FIRE.

I believe this to be true....mainly because they have ignored me for 13 months and counting. Question is do I trust them? Would I ever trust anything they say? Do? Promise? Allege?

This is what I told a wonderful man named Matthew located at the Chase local branch, who said,  we can see that you clearly exist, and we "don't know why we can't bring up the account."

They were lovely, and quite concerned about the situation, but more importantly, "Michelle, we can see that you exist, you are right in front of us."

I couldn't help but get choked up. When he asked me, "Do you still reside in the house?" I said, "Yes, and you and the cronies of #JMPC are going to have to kick me out kicking and screaming." Politely of course.

He said, I wouldn't leave either.

So, there is a man and a woman that work at #JPMC that actually have a heart beat, question still remains though....

CAN ANYTHING BE DONE???

JPMorgan Trading Losses May Reach $9B. Where Is Your Back Up Documentation...:) LOVE YOU

Report: JPMorgan trading losses may reach $9B

Associated Press – 

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. tumbled in premarket trading Thursday as a published report said that the bank's losses on a bad trade may reach as much as $9 billion — far higher than the estimated $2 billion loss disclosed last month.

In May, JPMorgan said the loss came from trading in credit derivatives that was designed to hedge against financial risk, and not to make a profit for the New York bank.

The New York Times, citing sources it did not identify by name, said that the losses have grown recently as JPMorgan has been unwinding its positions. The newspaper said its sources were current and former traders and executives at JPMorgan, which is the largest bank in the U.S. by assets.
The New York Times story cites an internal report that JPMorgan made in April that showed the losses could reach $8 billion to $9 billion, in a worst-case scenario. But the newspaper add7d that because JPMorgan has already been unwinding its positions, some expect that the losses will not be more than $6 billion to $7 billion.

A JPMorgan representative declined to comment.

At the time of the loss, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon apologized to shareholders. And just days after the loss was disclosed, Chief Investment Officer Ina Drew left the company. Drew oversaw the trading group responsible for the trade.

JPMorgan has lost about $23 billion in market value since the losses came to light on May 10.

The loss has heightened concerns that the biggest banks still pose risks to the U.S. financial system, less than four years after the financial crisis in the fall of 2008.

In a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee last week, Dimon was dismissive when asked if JPMorgan's losses could total half a trillion or a trillion dollars. He replied bluntly: "Not unless the Earth is hit by the moon."

While Dimon avoided putting an exact number on the bank's trading loss, he did say that JPMorgan will have a solidly profitable quarter. JPMorgan plans to give more details related to its losses when it reports second-quarter earnings on July 13.

The company's stock dropped $1.03, or 2.9 percent, to $35.71 in premarket trading. Its shares are down 11 percent in regular trading since the bank disclosed the trading losses.

The Beat Goes On

tisk tisk tisk tisk

JPMorgan Chase, I Know You Have Your Hands Full, but I Know that One of These Days You Will Do THE RIGHT THING!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU!!!! XOXOXOOXOXO

JPMorgan Chase Accidentally Breaks Into Your House And Steals Everything You Own
Bobo and Joy Dickson bought a house had been headed for foreclosure, but JPMorgan Chase apparently didn’t get the message that the former owners had moved out and the new owners were in residence. So, naturally, they hired a firm to drill the Dickson’s locks and take everything they owned, including their food. Now JPMorgan Chase is “taking it seriously.”
“We take this very seriously, and we are working with EMC [a mortgage company JPMorgan Chase owns] and the family’s attorney to make this right,” said Tom Kelly, a JPMorgan spokesman.
After the Dickson’s bought the house back in May, the foreclosure proceedings were supposed to have been stopped. They weren’t. That’s when the former owner’s mortgage company (owned by JPMorgan Chase) hired “Field Asset Services Inc.” to drill the locks and “empty the house,” according to the Austin American-Statesmen. Field Asset Services claims that the Dickson’s possessions were given to area thrift stores, but they have been unable to locate them.
Ordinarily, when personal possessions are left in a foreclosed home a court order is needed to remove the items and the owners are given the opportunity to reclaim them within 24 hours. JPMorgan Chase says its not sure if there was a court order in this case.
Elizabeth Bradburn, the Dicksons’ real estate agent, is organizing an effort to collect donations for the family. She said gift cards to furniture and household goods stores are preferred and may be sent to the Dicksons’ business address: 9800 N. Lamar Blvd.,
No. 315, Austin TX 78753.
“It’s been awesome to see people mobilize and want to help out,” Hance [Dicksons' attorney] said. “The Dicksons are, of course, very grateful and touched by the outpouring of support from the community.”


Report: WaMu parent wants U.S. documents in failure probe
December 15, 2009 | 8:38 pm
The bankrupt parent of Washington Mutual Bank asked the judge in its reorganization case to allow for an expansion of a probe into the circumstances immediately leading up to the September 2008 failure.
From the Puget Sound Business Journal:
A filing in the Washington Mutual bankruptcy case says that new evidence supports allegations that JPMorgan Chase used access to inside information about WaMu to drive down the bank?s credit rating and share price, scare away other suitors and arrange to buy the ailing Seattle bank from regulators at a bargain price.
The 20-page motion cites hundreds of internal documents received from JPMorgan through discovery in the bankruptcy case, including emails between JPMorgan executives and other banks interested in bidding on WaMu as well as slide show presentations discussing the viability of a WaMu purchase.
The latest motion now seeks to expand the subpoena to include regulators such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Office of Thrift Supervision, the U.S. Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, other banks that considered buying Washington Mutual, Goldman Sachs in its capacity as an adviser to WaMu, credit-rating agencies and other banks involved in lending to WaMu.
Conspiracy theories have been rampant since the S&L’s failure, and WaMu’s parent has been battling JPMorgan and the FDIC in multiple court venues over billions of dollars in assets.
As Jordan Weissmann wrote on law.com in October:
Washington Mutual is arguing in its suit brought in D.C. federal trial court that the government sold the bank for less than it would have been worth in liquidation, which it further argues violates the FDIC’s obligations under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.
It also contends that many assets should never have been transferred to JPMorgan at all.
– Tom Petruno


A class action lawsuit has been filed against Chase Home Finance LLC and JPMorgan Chase, N.A. in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, alleging that defendants reneged on a promise to modify troubled mortgages. The class action is brought on behalf of the following class of persons:
All mortgagors in the the State of California whose home mortgage loans are or were serviced by Chase Home Finance LLC or JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and who (a) have attempted to obtain permanent loan modifications from Chase Home Finance LLC or JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. through the Home Affordable Modification Program (?HAMP?) or similiar loan modification programs; and (b) have made payments pursuant to a HAMP Trial Period Plan (?TPP?) or any similiar temporary modification agreement offered by Defendants.
For more information on the Chase Home Finance & JPMorgan Chase mortgage loan modification class action lawsuit, read the Chase Home Finance & JPMorgan Chase class action lawsuit complaint.
For information about this class action, contact paralegal Nick Wallace or attorneys Gretchen Obrist or Lynn Sarko at 800.776.6044 or via email at info@kellerrohrback.com.

#JPMC hmmm...Issued False and Misleading Statements (alleged)

jpmorgan chase & co (JPM:New York)

Business Wire  06/20/2012 3:40 PM ET

Hagen Berman Reminds JPMorgan Investors 23 Days Remain before Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Securities Lawsuit: Class Period Expanded

Recent JPM News

BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 20, 2012-- Hagens Berman today reminded JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) (“JPM” or “the Company”) investors that less than one month remains before the July 13, 2012, lead plaintiff deadline in a securities class-action lawsuit and notified JPM investors that the class period has been extended to cover purchases of JPM common stock back to February 24, 2010.
Investors with more than $300,000.00 in loses from the purchase of JPMorgan common stock between February 24, 2010, and May 10, 2012 (the “Class Period”), and who have suffered substantial financial losses are encouraged to contact Hagens Berman Partner Reed Kathrein by calling (510) 725-3000. Investors may also contact the firm via email at JPM@hbsslaw.com.
The complaint, filed on June 15, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York alleges that JPMorgan issued false and misleading statements to investors concerning the knowledge of increasingly high-risk directional bets emanating from JPM CIO's London office.
According to the complaint, senior JPM executives in the Company's Investment Banking unit, among others, similarly complained to JPM's top executives, including CEO Jamie Dimon ("Dimon"), that the CIO unit was placing speculative bets that it did not fully understand which exposed JPM to significant losses. Having grown accustomed to the quick profits that the CIO office delivered to JPM's bottom line as a result of similar, high-risk trading strategies that turned out to be profitable, these red flags and warnings were ignored by senior management and investors were kept in the dark, according to the lawsuit.
During the class period, the lawsuit alleges that JPM represented in its annual reports on Form 10-K that the CIO was “primarily concerned with managing structural market risks which arise out of the various business activities of the Firm.”
On May 10, 2012, JPMorgan announced to investors that it had suffered slightly more than $2 billion trading loss under synthetic credit positions. On the news, the price of JPMorgan stock declined from $40.74 to $36.96.
The class-action lawsuit asks the court to award damages to investors who suffered losses following JPMorgan's disclosure of its trading losses.
Whistleblowers
Hagens Berman welcomes help in its investigation of whether JPMorgan misled investors by failing to disclose risks associated with its trading strategy.
Persons with knowledge that may help the investigation are encouraged to contact the firm. The SEC recently finalized new rules as part of its implementation of the whistleblower provisions in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Bill. The new rules protect whistleblowers from employer retaliation and allow the SEC to reward those who provide information leading to a successful enforcement with up to 30 percent of the recovery. You can learn more about Hagens Berman's whistleblower practice at www.hb-whistleblower.com. Whistleblowers can contact Reed Kathrein by calling (510) 725-3000 or by emailing JPM@hbsslaw.com
About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is an investor-rights class-action law firm with offices in 10 cities. The firm represents whistleblowers, workers and consumers in complex litigation. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hb-securities.com. The firm's securities law blog is at www.meaningfuldisclosure.com.


Source: Hagens Berman Sobol & Shapiro LLP
Investor Contact:
Hagens Berman Sobol & Shapiro LLP
Reed R. Kathrein, Esquire, 510-725-3030
715 Hearst Ave., Suite 202
Berkeley, CA 94710
JPM@hbsslaw.com
or
Media Contact:
Firmani + Associates
Mark Firmani, 206-443-9357
Mark@firmani.com