JPMorgan is once again emptying their pockets over serious financial mishandlings it oversaw in the past several years. After Bernard Madoff went off to jail for his Ponzi scheme where he defrauded investors of more than $18 billion, many families were left down and out. Well, JPMorgan Chase is now stepping up to cover those debts in order to avoid any criminal prosecution.
The bank will pay $1.7 billion to settle civil and criminal charges for their aiding of Bernie Madoff in his infamous fraud. Law enforcement officials have agreed to put off any criminal prosecution of the bank as long as it admits to the facts presented in the government’s case.
The $1.7 billion will go to Madoff’s victims. It is the largest penalty from the Justice Department for a violation of money laundering laws. And maybe, just maybe this will help the victims deal with the pain and suffering they have dealt with following the revelation of the scheme.
This is not the first time at the rodeo for JPMorgan Chase. They also paid $13 billion in a settlement with the Department of Justice and the Federal Housing Finance Agency over faulty mortgage bonds sold prior to the 2008 financial crisis.
It seems like this is happening a little too often, if you ask me. Perhaps some changes need to be made for these large financial institutions.
