This is an UPDATE of a "Street Sweeper" column originally published on December 1, 2010: "Former J.P. Morgan Banker James Hertz Pleads Guilty to Municipal Bond Bid Rigging."
According to a U.S. District Court plea proceeding held in Manhattan on November 29, 2010, former J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc. banker James Leonard Hertz, a resident of Cranford, N.J., engaged in separate bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies related to the provision of a type of contract, known as an investment agreement, and other municipal finance contracts, including derivatives contracts, to public entities throughout the United States, such as state, county and local governments and agencies. Hertz also pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. According to the plea agreement, Hertz has agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
Industry-Veteran Hertz
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) records disclose that Hertz was registered with Salomon Brothers Inc. from 1986 through 1987, with Dean Witter Reynolds from 1988 through 1993, and then with Prudential Securities Inc. through 1994. He first registered with Chase Securities, Inc. in February 1994. It appears that he remained registered with Chase Securities through 2001, at which time the entity became J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc., where he remained until his termination on December 12, 2007. J.P. Morgan Securities is part of the JPMorgan Chase & Co. financial services firm. (For purposes of this article, Chase Securities, Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities and JPMorgan Chase & Co. will be referenced generally and collectively as "JPM").
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