A former First Republic broker in Miami has been ordered by a Finra panel to repay nearly $12 million in outstanding loans he was given as part of a bonus agreement when he was hired by the bank, which was acquired by JPMorgan after it collapsed in 2023.
The three-member panel yesterday ordered Steven Harlen Levine to pay $11.5 million in compensatory damages plus 8% interest. He was also held liable for $425,387 in attorneys fees; other disbursements and costs totaling $5,625; and a non-refundable filing fee in the amount of $2,700. The award represented the full amount JPMorgan sought minus $1 million, which the panel said was owed to Levine before he left the firms.
JPMorgan's attorneys Leonard Weintraub and Katherine Harrison of Paduano & Weintraub LLP, in New York, were not immediately available for comment, according to a spokeswoman for the bank. Levine left JPMorgan for Morgan Stanley.
First Republic Securities Company and First Republic Investment Management accused Levine of “breach of contract, unjust enrichment and money had and received” relating to outstanding promissory notes.
Levine, in a counterclaim that the panel denied, alleged constructive termination, breach of contract (transition bonus), fraud, negligence, conspiracy and violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and sought compensatory and punitive damages.
Levine is one of 16 advisors who have been embroiled in a legal battle over whether they should be responsible for repaying about $90 million in outstanding loans that they received as part of their bonus agreements when they joined First Republic, which collapsed and was acquired by JPMorgan after going into receivership.
JPMorgan, which bought the advisors' promissory notes, contended that the bonus agreements require that the loans be repaid in full if the advisors resign. They all exited the bank two months before the collapse. In July, JPMorgan brought arbitration claims against the 16 advisors.
Levine’s counterclaim is the first to have been arbitrated by Finra.
He could not be reached for comment and his attorneys at Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick in Sarasota, Fla., did not reply to a request for comment.
Levine, who has appeared on the Barrons “Hall of Fame” and top 1,200 broker lists, began his career in 1987 with Smith Barney and worked at Lehman Brothers, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and UBS before joining First Republic in 2018, according to Brokercheck.