“NEW YORK (Reuters) – A Congressman on Wednesday called on the Department of Justice to investigate JPMorgan Chase & Co’s power trading in Michigan, as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) considers whether to sanction the firm.
Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee, a Democrat who sits on the Committee on Financial Services, said in a letter to the DoJ that it should pursue its own investigation into JPMorgan to see if it manipulated electricity markets.
The bank has told shareholders it has been notified by FERC staff that they intend to recommend that the five members of the commission take action over an alleged manipulative trading scheme in Michigan and California earlier this decade.
JPMorgan has denied that it manipulated power markets, and has vowed to “vigorously defend” itself and its employees.
“These allegations are serious charges, including traders devising deliberate schemes to manipulate energy prices and top bank executives lying under oath,” said Kildee in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
“The people of Michigan, and the American public generally, deserve a marketplace where all participants play by the same rules. I urge the Justice Department to resolve this matter by investigating these potentially illegal practices.”
JPMorgan spokeswoman Jennifer Zuccarelli declined on Wednesday to comment on Kildee’s letter, but said that the FERC notice to the bank is only a “statement of the staff’s views, and does not represent findings of the commission.”
She added “we strongly disagree” with the FERC conclusions….”
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