Ex-JPMorgan broker awarded $4M in damages for – Business News
An ex-JPMorgan broker who was awarded $4.25 million in damages after he obtained fired over a $642.50 deli platter opened up about his ordeal — claiming his ouster was “premeditated” and felt like “a punch in the stomach.”
Brent Bodner spoke completely to The Post on Thursday after the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel final week awarded him the sum and really useful that his termination file be modified from “for cause” to “voluntary.”
JPMorgan fired him in May 2024 over a catered gathering he hosted at his Beverly Hills home during Super Bowl weekend, saying he improperly used company money to pay for the food. That’s although Bodner had managed a billion-dollar ebook.
Brent Bodner spoke completely to The Post on Thursday. Hanndout
It additionally got here after Bodner obtained a congratulatory letter from CEO Jamie Dimon after he was promoted to managing director in June 2022 — a copy of which Bodner shared with The Post.
“It was like a punch in the stomach after 20 years,” Bodner informed The Post. “The whole thing blew my mind.”
The longtime broker mentioned the ordeal took a heavy emotional and financial toll on his household, significantly during the weeks after he was terminated and barred from contacting purchasers whereas wanting for one other job.
“I have two daughters who I take care of who live with me,” Bodner mentioned. “You’re not certain where your money’s coming from and whether you can get rehired.”
He claimed JPMorgan had already determined to push him out earlier than its inner probe was full, alleging the bank started reassigning his purchasers to different advisers earlier than he was formally interviewed concerning the deli-platter expense.
“It was premeditated,” he informed The Post.
Bodner, seen in this undated picture during a go to to New York, was fired by JPMorgan in May 2024. Courtesy Brent Bodner
Bodner mentioned tensions inside the workplace escalated after a number of colleagues left the firm, creating what he described as a climate of “paranoia” amongst newly put in managers who feared more brokers may bolt for rival Wall Street companies.
“I think they were paranoid that we were going to move firms,” Bodner informed The Post, including that JPMorgan used the deli-platter incident “as a pretext to push me out.”
The veteran broker mentioned discovery in the arbitration revealed inner efforts to divvy up his accounts.
“Before they even investigated, they started chopping up my book,” Bodner informed The Post.
Bodner mentioned the firing shattered his skilled fame and left him scrambling to determine whether or not one other Wall Street firm would rent him after JPMorgan gave him a pink slip.
Bodner mentioned it was common for him to expense consumer conferences at Dodger Stadium. Courtesy Brent Bodner
“When you are fired from a large financial institution, people think it’s for nefarious reasons,” he informed The Post. “Or even criminal. Nobody believes you.”
He insisted the deli expense was routine. JPMorgan frequently inspired wealth-management brokers to “wine and dine” purchasers and prospects utilizing company expense accounts that coated all the things from dinners and low conferences to Los Angeles Dodgers and Rams video games, he mentioned.
“It was part of an incentive to be part of this select advisor group,” he informed The Post, including that he was given a $10,000 annual expense finances and “encouraged to use it.”
He informed The Post that advisers had been permitted to spend up to about $900 for small business gatherings below JPMorgan’s inner tips and mentioned his assistant spent a little over $600 on a deli platter with wings, salads and more for the Super Bowl Sunday confab.
Bodner was axed over a dispute about a deli platter much like the one above. Courtesy Brent Bodner
Bodner mentioned the gathering was initially meant to host a bigger group of purchasers and potential purchasers, although solely two people confirmed up.
“My intent was to have six to 12 clients and prospects over,” he informed The Post. “We only had two that confirmed.”
“I call it the salami incident,” quipped Bodner, who has since landed on his toes as a broker at Wells Fargo.
JPMorgan mentioned it plans to file a movement to vacate the award in court docket.
It sharply disputed Bodner’s account, saying an inner investigation discovered that he obtained approval for what was described as a dinner with a consumer and potential consumer — however as a substitute hosted “a Super Bowl party at his home for family and friends.”
The ex-JPMorgan broker is a self-described “girl dad.” Courtesy Brent Bodner
The bank alleged the “client” was Bodner’s cousin and the purported prospect was the cousin’s boyfriend, including that Bodner submitted a business-expense receipt for food “for over a dozen people” whereas misstating each the aim and placement of the gathering.
“The advisor, as an at-will employee, was therefore terminated for breaching the company’s trust and misusing their position,” a JPMorgan spokesperson mentioned.
Bodner’s lawyer, Marc Rosen, informed The Post that Bodner’s cousin’s boyfriend was the prospect and that he was listed with a monitoring quantity in the JPMorgan system.
Rosen mentioned that the company’s “rule” about “not having clients entertained at home” was “not adopted … until February” of final yr — a yr after the gathering at Bodner’s home.
Bodner supplied The Post with a copy of a congratulatory letter signed by JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon. Courtesy Brent Bodner
Rosen alleged JPMorgan internally revised its description of the gathering to make the occasion seem more improper than investigators initially concluded.
According to Rosen, an early draft of a “Recommendation for Termination” doc acknowledged that a consumer and a potential consumer attended the occasion, however these references had been later eliminated.
Rosen claimed JPMorgan then recast the gathering as “a huge party” on “JPM’s nickel” whereas ignoring proof gathered during the firm’s inner investigation.
Bodner additionally pushed back on JPMorgan’s suggestion that it was improper for him to entertain kinfolk or longtime personal connections, saying wealth managers routinely work with family and friends members in an industry constructed on relationships and referrals.
Bodner mentioned he was “walked out” by his managers after spending almost 20 years at JPMorgan. Courtesy Brent Bodner
“A lot of my clients are family and friends,” Bodner informed The Post. “I’ve been doing this business since 1999.”
He added that instructed his assistant to order enough food from Factor’s Famous Deli for the anticipated turnout as a result of late confirmations had been common for consumer occasions tied to Super Bowl weekend.
“It’s not unusual for investment assistants to order more food just to make sure that there was enough available,” Bodner mentioned, noting that the expense nonetheless got here in effectively under the firm’s spending cap for small business gatherings.
He mentioned he hopes the arbitration award forces JPMorgan to rethink how it treats veteran brokers, arguing the ordeal broken not solely him but in addition the purchasers whose accounts had been abruptly thrown into turmoil.
JPMorgan mentioned it “vehemently” disagreed with the ruling that awarded Bodner more than $4 million. REUTERS
“My wish is that with all the press … JPMorgan won’t terminate other advisers because it’s not good, one, for the client and, two, for the adviser,” Bodner informed The Post.
“I can’t imagine a corporate culture that would do this to people,” he added. “Hopefully the takeaway from here is: do better.”
Bodner mentioned he believes JPMorgan ought to merely pay the award and transfer on somewhat than proceed preventing the case.
“My anticipation is I think they should pay and we should move on,” he informed The Post, noting that the arbitration award carries 10% annual curiosity till it’s paid.
