JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s claim that it found possible employeeintent to misprice trades in a unit that lost $5.8 billion may putdistance between management and any wrongdoers while providing aroad map for U.S. investigators.

“E-mails, voice tapes and other documents, supplemented byinterviews” were “suggestive of trader intent not to mark positionswhere they believed they could execute,” the bank said in apresentation July 13 as it reported net income fell 9 percent to$4.96 billion. “Traders may have been seeking to avoid showing fullamount of losses,” the bank said, noting management had concernsabout the integrity of the prices used. The bank didn't provideevidence to support the allegations.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation in New York in May began a probe of the bank'strading losses, a person familiar with the matter said. TheSecurities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity FuturesTrading Commission, which regulates derivatives trading, are alsoexamining New York-based JPMorgan's trading activities, accordingto people familiar with those probes.