CFTC v. JPMorgan (price manipulation, 2020)

Settled

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In 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued an order settling charges against JPMorgan Chase & Co., JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC. The order finds the three JPMorgan entities engaged in manipulative conduct and spoofing over at least eight years in precious metals and Treasury futures, with hundreds of thousands of spoof orders. The total of $920.2 million includes $311,737,008 in restitution, which this library has no field for. The release records a civil penalty of $436,431,811, disgorgement of $172,034,790. A parallel criminal matter is referenced in the release.

The record

What was ordered

Civil penalty

$436m

Disgorgement

$172m

Prejudgment interest

—

Total relief

$608m

Alleged gain

—

A dash means the release did not state a figure we could extract, not that the figure is zero. Penalty and disgorgement are stored separately so aggregates across the library do not double-count the same dollars.

What is alleged to have happened

the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced this matter on September 29, 2020 as release 8260-20. The respondents named are JPMorgan Chase & Co., JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (0 individuals, 3 entities).

This library tags the matter as price manipulation and spoofing, based on the conduct the regulator describes. Each tag links to a page explaining how that technique works, what statute it engages, and what penalties comparable actions have attracted. The tagging is ours, not the regulator's: agencies charge statutory provisions, not technique names.

The order finds the three JPMorgan entities engaged in manipulative conduct and spoofing over at least eight years in precious metals and Treasury futures, with hundreds of thousands of spoof orders. The total of $920.2 million includes $311,737,008 in restitution, which this library has no field for.

The conduct is recorded against commodities and futures, with CBOT, CME identified in the release.

The relief recorded in our data is a civil monetary penalty of $436,431,811, disgorgement of $172,034,790. Penalty and disgorgement are distinct: disgorgement returns the gain, while the penalty is punitive. We store them separately so that aggregate figures across the library are not double-counted.

The release references a parallel criminal proceeding. Where a criminal case exists, the civil and criminal outcomes are recorded separately, because they resolve on different standards of proof.

For the regulator's own account of the facts, read the primary document linked above. This page deliberately summarises the structured record rather than reproducing the release.

What technique is this, and how does it work?

This action is tagged with 2 techniques in our taxonomy. The tagging is ours: regulators charge statutory provisions, not technique names, so the mapping is an editorial judgement described in our editorial policy.

• Price manipulation — see how it works, what statute it engages, and every other action tagged the same way.
• Spoofing — see how it works, what statute it engages, and every other action tagged the same way.

Timeline

1. 2020-09-29 CFTC release published

Primary documents

Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.

• CFTC release
• CFTC order or complaint

The linked release is a work of the United States government and is not subject to copyright. Our summary and narrative above are our own writing.

Related actions

Other actions in the library sharing at least one technique tag with this one.

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.