The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is ordering JPMorgan Chase to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to a former employee who accused the bank of defamation.
Former JPMorgan Securities (JPMS) financial advisor Michael C. Nolan says the trillion-dollar lender damaged his reputation in a Form U5 filing to FINRA after he left the bank in 2022.
FINRA requires member organizations to file a Form U5 to explain why individuals left the firm.
In its Form U5, JPMorgan alleged that Nolan violated company policy and shared sensitive information with a client.
“Registered Representative is under internal review for allegedly: sharing material non-public information with a client; failing to properly disclose his personal affiliation with an outside business interest prior to requesting information from firm resources regarding the outside interest; and, violating the firm’s policy prohibiting the use of unapproved electronic communication channels for business communications.”
Nolan, who worked at JPMorgan for 41 years, denies the allegations and lodged a dispute claim citing FINRA Rule 1122, which prohibits financial institutions from filing misleading information regarding a registered adviser.
After over a year of arbitration, FINRA is awarding Nolan $250,000 in compensatory damages and ordering JPMorgan to expunge all defamatory language and responses on his Form U5.
“[JPMorgan Chase] is liable for and shall pay to Claimant the sum of $250,000.00 in compensatory damages, which includes the claim for advancement/indemnification.”
JPMorgan Chase has shelled out $522.448 million in total fines since 2000 levied by US regulators, enforcement agencies and lawsuits related to employment offenses, according to Violation Tracker, a comprehensive corporate misconduct database.
The bank generated $49.6 billion in profit last year.
