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Tag: fined

  • JPMorgan Chase Admits Fault, Agrees to Pay $920M

    While monumental corporate cases tend to drag on for years, this particular case involving JPMorgan Chase & Co. won’t be one of them. The United States’ largest bank has been ordered to pay an astronomical fine in the staggering amount of $920M, and no judge or jury was needed to provide a legitimate verdict. JPMorgan not only agreed to pay the fine, they even went so far as to admit fault.

    In a rare admission, after only sixteen months of litigation, JPMorgan has admitted to careless moderation over trading which prompted a $6 billion loss that contributed to the distress of the financial sector last year. The company took full responsibility for its allowance of the risky trading practices that contributed to the devastating loss.

    U.S. and United Kingdom regulators explained that JPMorgan’s poor judgment in trade monitoring over the London Whale operation gave traders the ability to distribute falsified, inflated values for specified transactions as a means of disguising significant losses as they mounted.

    Forbes reports the estimated $920 million fine will be disbursed to a number of designated government entities, which include three U.S. Regulators, in addition to the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority. The collective, augmented amount will go down in history as one of the largest punitive fines ever levied against a financial institution. The Securities and Exchange Commission required the bank to admit fault in addition to paying a $200 million fine. The Office of the Comptroller of Currency imposed a $300 million fine, and the Federal Reserve Board applied another $200 million to the mounting list of punitive damages. Then, the British Regulator imposed an estimated $220 million fine as a means of reparation. This particular settlement is no ‘slap on the wrist.’ Even with the settlement calculated and agreed upon by JPMorgan, the New York-based banking empire is still undergoing investigation by the United States Justice Department to ensure no criminal violations should be imposed.

    In a statement on behalf of JPMorgan, CEO Jamie Dimon said,
    “We have accepted responsibility and acknowledged our mistakes from the start, and we have learned from them and worked to fix them. We will continue to strive towards being considered the best bank – across all measures – not only by our shareholders and customers, but also by our regulators. Since these losses occurred, we have made numerous changes that have made us a stronger, smarter, better company.”

    This statement was quite contradictory to his response in the spring of 2012. At that particular time, Dimon belittled the allegations, claiming the reports were “tempest in a teapot,” just weeks prior to the bank’s admission to losing billions. However, JPMorgan’s goal is to move forward in a more prosperous as expeditiously as possible.

    JPMorgan has declined further comment.

     

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • TGI Friday’s Busted for Selling Fraudulent Cocktails

    A string of New Jersey TGI Friday’s restaurants have been busted for selling cheap liquor in place of premium brands. The Briad Group, which owns dozens of TGI Friday’s locations nationwide, has agreed not to contest the allegations and to pay a $500,000 fine after eight of its branches were found to have filled empty bottles of top shelf booze with bottom shelf adjuncts.

    Briad says it is “pleased” that a deal with New Jersey state authorities has been reached and claims to have taken measures to prevent the practice from happening again.

    After numerous customer complaints, the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control studied samples of drinks ordered in the restaurants and found that the casual dining chain was casually misrepresenting the contents of its premium cocktails. Authorities also relied on the testimony of confidential informants—presumably bartenders and servers tired of losing tips from disgruntled patrons.

    The crackdown, dubbed “Operation Swill,” saw raids in 13 Briad Group franchises and the seizure of 250 bottles of booze. “Briad’s restaurants were scamming customers by serving them a cheap substitute for what they ordered,” New Jersey’s Acting Attorney General John Hoffman said in a statement.

    “This unlawful practice took advantage of consumers who were cheated out of what they thought they were purchasing.

    “This fine should send a clear message to every bar and restaurant throughout New Jersey that customers should get what they pay for every time without exception.”

    Let’s all raise a glass of Kentucky Gentleman to the crack team at the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (and pretend it’s a glass of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked).