JPMorgan faces criminal probe over mortgage bonds

JPMorgan says it is facing a federal criminal probe relating to mortgage-backed securities sold in the run-up to the financial crisis.

The New York-based bank says it received notice in May that the civil division of the US Attorney's office for the Eastern District of California had concluded JPMorgan violated certain federal securities laws in connection with the sale of mortgage-backed securities.

The probe, along with one by the office's criminal division, relates to securities backed by subprime mortgages and so-called Alt-A mortgages, loans that are less risky than subprime loans, but riskier than prime loans.

JPMorgan Chase & Co made the disclosure in a regulatory filing late Wednesday.
 

The disclosure came a day after the US government accused Bank of America Corp of civil fraud.