Brent Ryan Bodner spent nearly two decades building a book of business as a broker in Beverly Hills for JPMorgan Chase. Then one expense report changed everything. A $642.50 deli platter submitted for a pre-approved client meeting at his home became the stated reason for his firing. Last week a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel saw it differently. The bank must now pay him $4.25 million in compensatory damages. Plus interest. Plus an order to recharacterize his departure as voluntary. The ruling, issued May 22, landed with a thud across trading floors and compliance offices. Bodner’s lawyer called the outcome unsurprising. Bank executives expressed sharp disappointment. Yet the case exposes something larger than one disputed lunch order. It highlights how quickly internal expense reviews can morph into career-ending decisions. And how arbitrators sometimes push back. Bodner submitted the expense in February 2024. The gathering coincided with Super Bowl weekend.…