In a landmark ruling, two former employees of the JPMorgan Chase banking empire were found guilty of market manipulation.

Former JPMorgan global precious metals desk head Michael Nowak and precious metals trader Gregg Smith were both charged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) with racketeering and conspiracy. A third man, salesperson Jeffrey Ruffo, was also charged but almost entirely acquitted.

Nowak and Smith engaged in illegal "spoofing," which involves the use of computer algorithms that disrupt normal trading activity for manipulation purposes. In essence, spoofing creates artificial pricing for assets, in this case precious metals.

The DOJ's most aggressive case to date targeting spoofing, the ruling saw Nowak get convicted on 13 other charges as well including fraud and attempted market manipulation. Smith was convicted on 11 charges.

"Ruffo, who was only charged with racketeering and conspiracy, was acquitted of both, the attorneys said," reported CNBC (Related: Back in June, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warned about a soon-to-come "economic hurricane.")