Defendants request dismissal of white-collar charges

On Behalf of | Mar 9, 2020 | Federal Crimes |

Four former bank employees accused of trying to illegally manipulate precious metals futures contracts say the criminal charges against them should be dismissed. The men filed their motion in Chicago’s U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

The Department of Justice charged the men with RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) conspiracy, conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution, bank fraud, commodities fraud, price manipulation and spoofing.

The DOJ said the various criminal acts were committed over an eight-year period ending in August 2016.

In their motion to dismiss the charges, the defendants argue that the federal government’s case revolves around alleged spoofing – placing bids and offers on the precious metals futures market to manipulate prices and then withdrawing the bids and offers before they can be executed. The defendants argue that their orders were legitimate.

According to a news report, the men “argue that the substantive counts of bank fraud, wire fraud and commodities fraud must be dismissed, along with the corresponding portions of the two conspiracy counts.”

They also point out that they could not have know whether they were trading with a financial institution because they were on anonymous CME Group exchanges. And if they couldn’t have known that, they couldn’t have intended to defraud a financial institution.

The defendants are accused of placing thousands of orders and then canceling them in efforts to trick exchange participants into executing orders the men wanted filled. By doing so, they allegedly created artificial prices on gold, silver, platinum and palladium futures contracts that served to illegally enrich them.

It is crucial for those facing similar charges to have on their side an attorney experienced in white-collar defense. Call the Law Offices of Darryl A. Goldberg at 773-793-3196 for more information or to schedule a consultation.

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