A former JPMorgan broker who claimed he was wrongly fired over a $642.50 plate of food related to a business meeting has been awarded nearly $4 million in compensation by a Wall Street jury, according to the New York Post.The ruling issued last week by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ordered JPMorgan Chase to pay millions of dollars to veteran Beverly Hills broker Brent Ryan Bodner after he was fired in 2024 over what it said was a distorted expense claim.The dispute centered on a meeting Bodner had in February 2024 at his home. The bank allegedly described the meeting as a “Super Bowl party.”
Bodner’s attorney said it was instead a pre-agreed business meeting.His attorney, Baltimore-based Mark Selden Rosen, said the cost was for a delicious dish delivered to Bodner’s home for the meeting, which was ordered before the Super Bowl.“They weren’t hiding anything,” the attorney said, noting that the receipt showed delivery to Bodner’s home. “There was nothing nefarious at all. They provided documents proving he was at his home.”
He added that the assistant who was handling the expenses initially coded them as if the food had been consumed at a deli rather than delivered, but said he was still in compliance with the company’s spending rules.Rosen also claimed that JPMorgan used the incident as an excuse to remove his client, saying the decision to fire him was made before the investigation was completed.“It wasn’t a Super Bowl party,” he said.“They tried to falsely portray it as a Super Bowl party on their nickel to belittle him,” he added.Bodner spent more than a decade registered with JPMorgan Securities and its affiliates and now works for Wells Fargo.The FINRA panel also recommended correcting Bodner’s employment record, including changing his termination to “voluntary” and removing the termination explanation entirely.“We strongly disagree with FINRA’s decision and are disappointed with this outcome,” a JPMorgan Wealth Management spokesperson said.News of the ruling was first reported by Barron’s.Bodner had initially sought $30 million in total damages, including punitive damages, but the three-member arbitration panel denied most of those claims and did not award punitive damages. However, it awarded him about $4 million plus interest, along with an $800 filing fee.The arbitrators also ordered JP Morgan to cover most of the costs related to the case. The bank did not say whether it would appeal the decision in court.
