JPMorgan banker wins $4M after axing over sandwich platter

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A banker who sued JPMorgan Chase after being fired over a fancy food platter ended up making the bank eat its words — to the tune of millions of dollars.

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Brent Bodner filed the wrongful termination lawsuit in November 2024, five months after he was axed for expensing a deli plate for a party at his California home — which a prospective client attended.

Bodner’s attorney, Marc Seldin Rosen, told AdvisorHub that the firm fired his client for allegedly violating the firm’s “business hospitality policy as it relates to the purpose and location of an event.”

Seldin, however, called the termination notice “the most absurd and flagrantly false thing you’ll ever see.”

Food order gone wrong?

Bodner, a broker who had managed $1 billion in client assets, was investigated over the $642.50 expense submitted on his behalf by his assistant, Rosen told the outlet.

That said, Bodner’s assistant submitted the expense as part of a meal consumed at the delicatessen instead of his home, a discrepancy JPMorgan picked up on.

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That said, there were no rules at the time that restricted Bodner from hosting a client or prospect at his home, and the money spent for the delicatessen platter was below the firm’s $900 maximum for such an expense, Rosen said.

“They weren’t hiding anything,” Rosen told the New York Postadding that the delivery receipt showed the food was sent directly to Bodner’s home.

It also wasn’t a Super Bowl party as the bank claimed, the lawyer told the publication.

“They tried to mischaracterize it as a Super Bowl party on their nickel to disparage him.”

The findings

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority sided with Bodner and ordered the banking giant to pay Bodner $4.25 million in damages, according to a May 21 ruling.

The panel awarded Bodner damages along with 10% annual interest until the judgment is paid in full.

JPMorgan was also ordered to reimburse filing fees and cover most of the case’s hearing and forum costs.

The panel did, however, deny Bodner’s request for punitive damages.

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Bodner, who was hired by Wells Fargo a month after his firing, had initially sought $15 million in compensatory damages and an equal amount in punitive damages.

‘Voluntary’ departure

The arbitration panel also ruled that Bodner could expunge the termination disclosure from his public regulatory record and change the reason for his departure from JPMorgan to “voluntary.”

The details of why the panel sided with Bodner were not disclosed.

JPMorgan pushed back on Bodner’s claims and argued that the arbitrators’ decision was the wrong one.

“We vehemently disagree with FINRA’s decision and are disappointed by this outcome,” a JPMorgan spokesperson told AdvisorHub.

Under FINRA rules, arbitration awards are generally final within the organization’s system, though parties may seek limited judicial review in court.

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