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One former and two current JPMorgan traders were charged on Monday with market manipulation in precious-metals trading, the US Department of Justice said.

An unsealed indictment alleges that the traders used "deceptive orders" to drive up the price and liquidity of trades they sought on the opposite side of the market.

Two former JPMorgan precious-metals traders described by the DOJ as "among the defendant's co-conspirators" already pleaded guilty to illegal spoofing.

Read the full indictment here.

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Three JPMorgan traders were charged with market manipulation by the US Department of Justice on Monday.

The unsealed indictment alleges a racketeering conspiracy among one former and two current precious-metals traders at JPMorgan. The scheme involved trades of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium from 2008 to 2016, according to the Department of Justice.

Here's who was charged in the indictment:

Gregg Smith: Joined JPMorgan in May 2008, served as an executive director and trader on the precious-metals desk.

Joined JPMorgan in May 2008, served as an executive director and trader on the precious-metals desk. Michael Nowak: Joined in July 1996, served as a managing director and ran the global precious-metals desk.

Joined in July 1996, served as a managing director and ran the global precious-metals desk. Christopher Jordan: Joined in March 2006, served as an executive director and trader on the precious-metals desk, and left JPMorgan in December 2009.

Each was charged with one count of racketeering conspiracy - also known as RICO conspiracy - among other federal crimes. Smith and Nowak were each charged with single counts of attempted price manipulation, commodities fraud, and spoofing.

"Smith, Nowak, Jordan, and their co-conspirators allegedly engaged in a complex scheme to trade precious metals in a way that negatively affected the natural balance of supply-and-demand," William F. Sweeney Jr., an FBI assistant director, said in a statement.

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They were accused of placing orders they intended to cancel just before execution. These "deceptive orders" were made to "create liquidity and drive prices toward orders they wanted to execute on the opposite side of the market," the Justice Department said.

Two former JPMorgan metals traders described as "among the defendant's co-conspirators" already pleaded guilty in October and August to illegal spoofing, the department said.

Nowak and Smith were placed on leave earlier in September pending the FBI investigation, which is ongoing.

The case was indicted in the Northern District of Illinois and unsealed Monday.

"It's truly regrettable that the DOJ decided to go forward with a prosecution of Mike Nowak, who has done nothing wrong. We look forward to representing him at trial and expect him to be fully exonerated," Mike Nowak's attorneys, David Meister and Jocelyn Strauber of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, said.

JPMorgan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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