Who Paid The Largest Criminal Fine In History And Why
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On October 24, 2019, U.S. banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co was hit with a $13 billion fine for its role in the 2008 financial crisis. It was the largest criminal fine ever paid by a company.
The U.S. Department of Justice imposed the massive criminal fine in order to make JPMorgan Chase pay for their misdeeds while they were underwriting and issuing mortgage-backed securities. JPMorgan Chase had allegedly misled investors as to the quality of loan pools they were issuing and put their stockholders at risk.
The fines were intended to punish JPMorgan Chase and deter future financial misconduct. JPMorgan Chase also paid out an additional $4 billion to settle civil lawsuits brought by various government bodies and mortgage bond investors, adding to the already hefty $13 billion criminal fine.
The payment of the $17 billion total fine was the largest criminal fine ever paid. It was also the largest financial settlement that the DOJ has ever entered into with a single company. The astonishing fine was meant to send a message not only to the banking industry but to the public too: no company, no matter how large or how powerful, is too big to fail.