JPMorgan Chase Co-President Gordon Smith spent last week defending some of his employees accused of discriminating against a Black customer and a Black employee.

On Wednesday, The New York Times released a feature on a business relationship between former NFL player Jimmy Kennedy and Ricardo Peters, a former financial advisor for a JPMorgan Chase branch in Phoenix, Arizona.

The story claims Peters was discriminated against by his boss, Frank Venniro, after obtaining Kennedy as a client.

Peters had worked at the bank for nearly 10 years, gaining recognition for his work and access to higher-paying clients. Problems started to appear when he tried to get a promotion, only to be denied and moved to a windowless back office.

Things took a turn for the worse when Peters tried to work with a Black woman who received a $372,000 wrongful death settlement for her son. Venniro repeatedly refused to let Peters handle the account, making dozens of offensive comments about the woman and her ability to handle the money.

“You’ve got somebody who’s coming from Section 8, never had a nickel to spend, and now she’s got $400,000. What do you think’s going to happen with that money? It’s gone,” Venniro said.

“You’re not investing a dime for this lady. This is not money she respects. She didn’t earn it," Venniro added before making more offensive comments about other Black people who received settlements and spent the money.

After the dispute, Venniro transferred Peters to a smaller branch in a low-income neighborhood.

It was there that Peters met Kennedy, and the two immediately bonded. In an interview with The New York Times, Kennedy said he had struggled in the past with money managers who he didn't trust.

Peters promised Kennedy that he would get “private client” privileges at the bank because he put nearly $800,000 into an account at JPMorgan Chase. The 38-year-old had spent 10 seasons playing in the NFL and won a Super Bowl during his final year in 2011. The perks, which came with every account that had over $250,000, included travel discounts, exclusive event invitations and better deals on loans.

Peters was fired months later without explanation, but the bank implied that it was right to fire him, claiming he violated bank policy. He eventually filed a discrimination claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the civil rights division of the Arizona attorney general’s office.

Peters said firing someone over an arcane and minuscule rule like that, which he claims he didn't break, was pure evidence of discrimination.

The bank began mismanaging Kennedy's money and eventually gave him a new Black financial advisor who he immediately deemed to be inexperienced.

When the bank fired Peters they also deleted Kennedy's private client application without telling him. He spoke to his new advisor, Charles Belton, and began recording their conversations.

Belton went on to make a number of offensive comments to Kennedy about how he should act around other white financial advisors and how they viewed him as a tall Black man.

“They’re not going to say this, but I don’t have the same level of intimidation that they have — you know what I’m saying? Not only being a former athlete but also being two Black men. You sit in front of [Venniro], you’re like three times his size — you feel what I’m saying? He already probably has his perception of how these interactions could go,” Belton told Kennedy after the former NFL player expressed his anger about being denied the "private client" status.

“We’ve seen people that are not of your stature get irate, and it’s like, ‘Well, if this dude gets upset, like what’s going to happen to me?’” Belton added, explaining that Kennedy should never complain to Venniro.

Kennedy flat out asked him whether Venniro was racist and Belton, on audio, implied that he was.

"I don’t think any person at that level is dumb enough for it to be that blatant. I don’t have any reason to believe blatantly that he’s that way. You feel what I’m saying? Now, whether there’s some covert action? To be honest? I always err on the side of thinking that. You know, people that are not us probably have some form of prejudice toward us,” Belton said.

Kennedy filed a grievance with an industry watchdog against the bank and took out all of his money.

Venniro was put on leave right before the article came out and has since resigned from his position.

Smith spoke to the company's board on Wednesday and said, "All of us feel absolutely sickened — not about the article, but about what happened at one of our branches in Arizona. This strikes right at the heart of who we are, and what we believe in, and what this company is all about.”

JPMorgan Chase spokeswoman Patricia Wexler said the bank hadn't mistreated Peters or Kennedy. However, she did admit that Venniro was fired for his comments about the Black woman who was depositing the $372,000 wrongful death settlement.

“Our employee used extraordinarily bad judgment and was wrong to suggest we couldn’t help a customer,” Wexler said before clarifying her apology by saying Venniro didn't know her race and only knew about her housing situation.

In 2018, the bank was forced to pay $24 million in a settlement to Black employees who sued for discrimination.

Jimmy-Kennedy

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week