Two former JPMorgan metals traders found guilty in landmark ‘spoofing’ case

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two former JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) employees were found guilty on some charges in a landmark trial over futures market manipulation on Wednesday, while a third former trader was acquitted entirely, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said.

The bank’s former global precious metals desk head Michael Nowak, precious metals trader Gregg Smith and salesperson Jeffrey Ruffo had been charged by the Justice Department with racketeering and conspiracy in the agency’s most aggressive case to date targeting a manipulative trading tactic known as spoofing.

All three men, who had pleaded not guilty, were acquitted of racketeering and conspiracy. Nowak was convicted on 13 other charges including fraud, spoofing and attempted market manipulation, and Smith was convicted on 11 charges. Ruffo, who was only charged with racketeering and conspiracy, was acquitted of both, the attorneys said.