Saturday, November 6, 2010

Kaplan Fox Sues JP Morgan and HSBC on Behalf of Investors for Silver Futures and Options Contract Losses Caused by Market Manipulation

NEW YORK -- On November 2, 2010, Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP (www.kaplanfox.com), a leading plaintiffs' firm, filed a class-action complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of an individual investor against JP Morgan Chase and HSBC in connection with their alleged conspiracy and manipulation of the market for silver futures and options contracts traded on COMEX.

The complaint alleges that around June 2008, when JP Morgan acquired Bear Stearns, including Bear Stearns' short positions in silver futures, JP Morgan and HSBC commenced a conspiracy to manipulate, and did manipulate, the market for silver futures and options contracts on COMEX. Specifically, the complaint alleges that around this time, JP Morgan and HSBC, pursuant to their conspiracy, acquired massive short positions on silver futures contracts in an effort to artificially depress the price of the silver futures market. The defendants realized substantial illegal profits in connection with their scheme, while investors who had no knowledge of the scheme, lost substantial amounts of money because of the defendants' conduct.

The complaint further alleges that the defendants' illegal scheme continued until around March 2010, when a metals trader based in London, publicly exposed the scheme. This trader has reported the scheme to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC"), and both the CFTC and the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice are investigating the alleged conspiratorial and manipulative activities of the defendants.

If you have any information concerning any of the defendants' conduct, or wish to learn more about the litigation, please contact Kaplan Fox attorneys Robert N. Kaplan or Jason A. Zweig at 800-290-1952.

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