Rumors Claim JP Morgan’s Gold Vault Caught Fire in NYC
July 22nd, 2013
The alternative media world lit up with activity over the weekend as reports began to surface that a fire erupted in JP Morgan’s gold vault in New York City. Sites like Before It’s News published user-taken video of fire trucks responding to the scene. The New York City Fire Department issued a tweet around the same time, indicating that a commercial vault had caught fire.
Allegedly, JP Morgan’s gold inventory had just dropped 66% to 46,000 ounces, leaving the company well short of its alleged 502,000 ounce requirement needed to meet June’s outstanding gold contract. Did someone set fire to JP Morgan’s gold vault in an effort to provide an excuse for the firm’s missing gold? Check out the video evidence of the fire itself in the player below, and let’s investigate the specifics after the jump.
The Difference Between a Vault at the Old JP Morgan Building and JP Morgan’s Gold Vault
Certainly, sufficient evidence existed for someone to believe that JP Morgan Chase & Co’s gold vault had caught on fire. Between the New York City Fire Department’s tweet and the presence of firefighters at the 15 Broad Street block, onlookers could easily be led to think that the historic firm’s gold inventory had been set ablaze at a particularly suspicious time.
However, when the fire brigade indicated that “JP Morgan’s building” had caught fire, it was referring to the historic building first developed by JP Morgan, which had been sold by the company years ago. According to Zerohedge, JP Morgan’s new gold vault is located next door to the New York Fed’s, 90 feet below 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza.
Rumor Debunked
The above-linked Zerohedge article clearly points out the location of the fire access doors to JP Morgan’s real vault, half a mile from where the fire trucks were spotted. While it is possible-if-not-likely that someone’s underground vault caught fire, chances are it wasn’t JP Morgan’s.
If it all were a scheme to create a “force-majeur” event to explain missing gold inventories, then today’s news reports would be filled with info about the steps taken by JP Morgan in response. In reality, it appears that the vault that caught fire was one belonging to someone else, which may or may not have been used to store gold at all.
Though this particular rumor wound up being untrue, it’s interesting how several different web users in unrelated locations were able to coordinate their investigative activities to get to the bottom of the claim without really having to go out of their way. Someone on the scene caught the video and suggested the implications, and the folks at Zerohedge digested the info and compared it to other known facts. Now, thanks to alternative media, the story got the investigation it deserved.
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