JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest banks in the United States, has accumulated a total of approximately $39.3 billion in fines across 272 violations since the year 2000. This information comes from Violation Tracker, a database that aggregates data on corporate misconduct. The fines levied against JPMorgan cover a wide array of offenses, including anti-competitive practices, securities abuses, and other violations.
Notably, a significant portion of these fines, about $38 billion, occurred under the leadership of Jamie Dimon, who has been the CEO of JPMorgan since 2005. One of the most substantial fines in the bank’s history was a $13 billion penalty in October 2013, related to misleading investors over “toxic” mortgage deals that contributed to the market collapse.
In addition to this, JPMorgan traders were investigated for manipulating various metals futures markets between 2008 and 2016, leading to a settlement of nearly $1 billion in September 2020. Furthermore, in September 2022, JPMorgan agreed to a $75 million settlement with the U.S. Virgin Islands over allegations that it enabled and financially benefited from Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation, although it’s important to note that settlements aren’t admissions of guilt.
These fines and penalties are part of a broader trend among major U.S. banks. Collectively, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and JPMorgan have paid around $181 billion in penalties since 2000 for various civil and criminal offenses, including foreign bribery, money laundering, corporate tax evasion, securities violations, accounting fraud, price-fixing, employment discrimination, and more.
This information has been particularly highlighted in the context of JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon’s criticism of cryptocurrencies. Dimon has expressed a strong opposition to digital assets, categorizing them as tools primarily used for criminal activities like drug trafficking, money laundering, and tax avoidance. However, his statements have been met with criticism, especially considering the bank’s own record of legal and regulatory issues.