JPMorgan Chase must face a lawsuit from a former trader who claims he was fired in retaliation for cooperating with U.S. prosecutors investigating illegal spoof trades at the bank's precious-metals trading business, a federal judge in New York ruled.
Donald Turnbull claimed he was fired in 2019, at a time when the bank also was cooperating with the government probe. JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank, agreed in 2020 to pay more than
U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl, in a ruling dated Monday, rejected JPMorgan's request to dismiss the lawsuit. Koeltl threw out Turnbull's initial lawsuit in March, but allowed the former trader to file an amended complaint. A representative from JPMorgan didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. Justice Department has been cracking down on market manipulation cases during the past decade, which has led to settlements with several banks and criminal cases against their employees.
In August, the former head of the JPMorgan's precious-metals business, Michael Nowak, and his top trader, Gregg Smith, were found guilty of fraud and other charges by a jury in Chicago.
The case is Turnbull v. JPMorgan Chase, 21-cv-3217, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
