JP Morgan Silver Web Unweaving

Here we have silver at $14 and with JPMorgan shorting the snot out of it for no conceivable legitimate economic motive, just as the Justice Department announces a criminal guilty plea by one of its former silver traders for manipulating prices. I could never have made any of this up if I tried.

- Ted Butler / November 10, 2018

On the heels of the US Department of Justice's commodity fraud and conspiracy guilty plea by a former 13-year JP Morgan silver and other precious metal derivative trader ( now a self-admitted spoofer ).

The sordid court document details are below.

US Department of Justice's detailed allegations against a 13 yr Ex-JP Morgan silver, gold, platinum, and palladium trader ???https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1108346/download

Facing 30 yrs of potential locked cage imprisonment, here is the signed guilt plea in full detail ???https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1108351/download

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As to be expected in this over-financialized market. Its cheerleaders would come around to pose for pictures, and indeed CNBC is here.

Many years too late, but said cracker-jacks are now doing stringent financial journalism after facts have become all too obvious to deny.

Below we will highlight a few details from the second CNBC report on this beginning validation of JP Morgan silver trader(s) price manipulations.

We've decided to highlight a few choice sections from their reporting below. Then we will proceed to point out some glaring details they have somehow always missed to follow up on.

Interviewing a former lawyer, who only a few years back accused large precious metal JP Morgan traders of similar crimes (that lawsuit still in NY civil court, still pending)...

David Kovel, told CNBC he was struck by how much in common his civil case pending in New York federal court against J. P. Morgan Chase has with the conduct outlined in the ongoing criminal case in Connecticut against John Edmonds.

John Edmonds, a 36-year-old Brooklyn resident, pleaded guilty in October to fraudulently manipulating the precious metals markets from 2009 to 2015.

He admitted working with "unnamed co-conspirators" at his former employer, J. P. Morgan, the Justice Department made public Nov. 6, when it unsealed the case in U.S. District Court in Connecticut.

This is not some story about one rogue trader at JP Morgan spoofing his Christmas bonus fatter, please.

Dude probably rationalized away or simply ignored the real world sufferings such manipulative actions encourage or result in.

Wildcat #Gold minein #Brasil's #Amazon ->https://t.co/zdKZp696tG

Some allege responsible mines not profitable w/ artificial $1134 oz price pic.twitter.com/Jn7e5TdPiC

- James Henry Anderson (@jameshenryand) December 17, 2016

No, no, no.

This guy's guilty plea and the allegations contained go much further in detail.

We're talking deep, systematic overtones that paint a potential culture of senior-level criminality.

Prosecutors said Edmonds learned the deceptive strategy "from more senior traders" at the bank, and that he "personally deployed this strategy hundreds of times with the knowledge and consent of his immediate supervisors." His guilty plea related specifically to trading in silver futures contracts, as well as in gold, platinum and palladium futures.

Please, do go on CNBC.

This is actually, some pretty good damn reporting.

Go CNBC, go!

Edmonds isn't named in the Kovel case, or mentioned in its allegations. But he was questioned under oath by lawyers for the traders. And Edmonds worked at J. P. Morgan in the same group of traders who are identified as participants in the scheme alleged in the civil case.

"The conduct that Mr. Edmonds admits to is highly consistent with the conduct that my clients allege harmed them and it's not surprising because he was working with the same people at J. P. Morgan trading in the silver markets at that time," Kovel told CNBC.

Oh, but here come some of the best golden nuggets we found in their article from today.

Have a look...

Kovel's suit says that J. P. Morgan's traders made "large manipulative trades" that caused "artificial fluctuations" in the prices of silver futures. Specifically, the bank's traders allegedly made offers to buy or sell futures in a way that would affect the difference in prices between what sellers of silver futures contracts were asking and what buyers were offering. Some of this activity, he alleges, took place on the floor of the metals exchange.

A former J. P. Morgan executive, Robert Gottlieb, who now works for Koch Industries according to his LinkedIn profile, is described in the civil lawsuit as controlling "the decision making for J. P. Morgan's silver positions and took the primary role in trading JP Morgan's silver spreads."

Gottlieb did not respond to requests for comment.

I honestly wasted about 10 minutes time this morning trying to dig up this Robert Gottlieb's face. Guy obviously doesn't like cameras or public profiles. My imagination is left to conjure his face (it's hideous).

His linkedin profile is of course gone, now that the heat's on - https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-gottlieb-a7712316

If you didn't break the law Bobby, good luck in your civil lawsuit and with avoiding prison time.

Then again, if you did break laws. My sincerest sarcasm, with additional spoofing and front running to boot.

Lawyers for plaintiffs in the civil lawsuit have questioned Gottlieb under oath, and also J. P. Morgan's former global commodities chief Blythe Masters and more than a half-dozen other current and former employees at the bank, court filings indicate. Masters declined to comment.

Federal prosecutors say they continue to investigate in connection with the criminal case lodged against Edmonds.

"By conspiring with his trading partners to place spoof orders, [Edmonds] blatantly attempted to profit off of an unfair market that he helped create," said William Sweeney, assistant director in charge of the FBI's field office in New York.

"The FBI will continue to work with our partners to insure financial markets remain a level playing field for all investors."

Now we are left to wonder if such silver trade spoofing continues to occur in the silver derivatives market to date.

Oh, well looky there.. perhaps it still does..

Silver spoof city! pic.twitter.com/BZ70aBpngC

- Frank Flanagan (@0_sum_game) October 18, 2018

Why do they spoof Dec silver but not March silver? pic.twitter.com/ZsAO4j5hMP

- Frank Flanagan (@0_sum_game) October 26, 2018

Ladies and gentlemen, these acting US attorneys have their work cut out for them.

Possibly not just today, but also going back decades+ for justice.

Even our dumbed down History Channel told us so.

Below was also then CFTC Bart Chilton's best role to date.

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Painfully, many of our fiat net worth$ remind us of these now facts.

What possible further allegations might come?

More broadly speaking than painful gains or losse$ over this time.

At real stake, is trust.

It takes decades to build, and not all that much time to lose.

Then again, it has also apparently taken decades to suppress precious metal prices.

So there is all that too.

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At the 15:41 gold and at 21:34 silver cumulative trading prices ongoing

EAST PRICE vs SPOT PRICE vs WEST PRICE

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As a culture at large, and certainly within financial markets. If we lose trust, we will be screwed long term.

Authorities must breach this corrosion of credibility.

It's a national security concern one could argue.

Perhaps more so than even depressing commodity prices through government policy may be (e.g. for geo strategic reasons possibly).

Yet even the supposed mega banks in question (the most risk laden, page 3)... they continue to self-deem themselves somehow crucial to our economic survival. Total bull's hit, by the way.

They can always be ring fenced and divided up into smaller more local banks. Of course if we as a nation ever decide to do so, with good reason(s).

Regardless their unlawful ex-actors, who obviously have, and very well still may be breaking the laws of the land.

May their supposed and alleged impunity be riddled dead wrong.

In so seeking justice, perhaps even the heavens do fall.

But by all legal means, may serving true justice be done.

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About the Author James Anderson has a BA in finance from Loyola University New Orleans. He has both worked and invested in the physical investment grade bullion markets prior to the 2008 global financial crisis. James' twitter is @JamesHenryAnd and he has authored SD Bullion's complementary 21st Century Gold Rush Book.

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