https://dailyhodl.com/2024/03/23/jpmorgan-chase-bank-of-america-and-six-financial-giants-pay-70000000-settlement-over-allegations-of-widespread-fraud-and-collusion/
Eight financial giants are shelling out tens of millions of dollars to settle a decade-long whistleblower lawsuit. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Fifth Third Bancorp, Barclays, Bank of Montreal (BMO) and William Blair were sued in 2014, accused of reaping millions in illicit profits by rigging interest rates on municipal bonds. ADVERTISEMENT The whistleblower, identified in the lawsuit as Edelweiss Fund LLC, says the firms have paid $70 million to settle the lawsuit. Edelweiss accused the group of Wall Street firms of “widespread fraud and collusion” after the state of Illinois hired them to market municipal bonds known as variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs) at the lowest possible interest rates. VRDOs are tax-exempt bonds issued by municipalities to get long-term financing, usually spanning 20 to 30 years. But instead of marketing the bonds at low interest rates, the banks allegedly inflated the rates to generate millions of dollars in fees and discourage investors from converting the debt securities to cash.
