Former JPMorgan traders Gregg Smith, Michael Nowak, Christopher Jordan, Jeffrey Ruffo, who are defendants in a spoofing lawsuit, have managed to reduce the burden of charges against them. On August 17, 2021, Judge Edmond E. Chang of the Illinois Northern District Court, issued a Memorandum & Opinion axing the bank fraud charges against the defendants. Let’s recall that this prosecution arises out of an alleged commodities-spoofing conspiracy perpetrated by precious-metals traders. The superseding indictment charges a conspiracy to commit racketeering activity, as well as substantive counts of fraud, spoofing, and ... (full story)