Ohio pension funds join in Chase case

Staff report

COLUMBUS

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has filed a motion for Ohio state pension funds to join other funds in litigation against JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The motion comes as the bank announced that losses related to its “London Whale” trading scandal already have totaled at least $5.8 billion.

“The filings allege that pension-fund managers acting on behalf of Ohio retirees were given false and misleading information by JPMorgan Chase that hid the true nature of the bank’s risky trades, causing Ohio teachers, school employees, and public employees to lose tens of millions of hard-earned retirement dollars,” said DeWine.

The motion alleges that JPMorgan Chase issued false and misleading statements regarding its trading activity, describing risky and speculative trading strategies merely as “hedges” and “risk management” devices. The trading losses by JPMorgan Chase caused losses in the bank’s stock value to mount into the billions of dollars. Ohio pension funds lost over $27.5 million as a result of the alleged fraud.

Joining the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, the School Employees Retirement System of Ohio, and the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio in filing for lead plaintiff status are public pension funds in the states of Oregon and Arkansas, as well as a Swedish national pension fund. The motion is made in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

JPMorgan Chase, the holding company of Chase Bank, is the largest banking comp;any in the United States. It operates 328 Chase Bank locations in Ohio, including many in the Mahoning Valley.