JPMorgan is asking a federal court to issue a restraining order against a former adviser who left for Wells Fargo but allegedly continues to solicit clients in violation of contracts with his former employer.
Wells Fargo is also central to another federal lawsuit filed this week. A former customer service associate claims the bank ignored constant harassment and abuse from one of its so-called “biggest rainmakers”.
JP Morgan's call for a temporary restraining order concerns Kevin Rossow, who joined JPMorgan in March 2012 as a relationship banker. In late 2021, he became a Private Client Advisor at a bank branch in Longview, Texas, according to the complaint filed in a Texas federal court.
The firm claimed that Rossow worked with clients referred by the branch to build relationships and was not expected to secure new business regardless of these referrals. JPMorgan claimed Rossow signed an agreement barring him from soliciting the firm's clients for a year after he left or was fired.
However, on July 12, Rossow left JPMorgan and joined Wells Fargo while continuing to operate out of Longview. According to the lawsuit, Rossow immediately began soliciting clients from his former firm.
Clients allegedly began telling JPMorgan representatives about the phone calls from Rossow. In one case, Rossow falsely claimed that he no longer had a counselor at his former branch. Rossow asked for a meeting with another client, telling her he could “make her money grow better” if she moved her accounts to Wells Fargo.
“The client informed JPMorgan that what Rossow said to her was 'despicable' and was visibly upset about her interaction with Rossow,” the complaint said.
According to the lawsuit, several other customers reported similar interactions, with some saying Rossow was still contacting them as recently as a few days ago. JPMorgan estimated that about 16 families with assets above $13 million have already moved to Wells Fargo.
However, the firm claimed that Rossow would not have had access to all of those clients' contact information and would not have been able to call those clients after he resigned without “misappropriating” client information.
JPMorgan accused him of accessing confidential client files in the weeks before his resignation; on June 25, they claimed Rossow accessed about 60 profiles in the firm's central program in one day, about 20 of them “in rapid succession” in about 30 minutes.
The firm argued that Rossow obtained customer information (including contact information) from JPMorgan, either by taking profile pictures, memorizing the information, or through some other means, and brought it to Wells Fargo. A spokesman for the firm said Wells Fargo had nothing to add.
Wells' ex-coworker alleges abuse
Wells Fargo is the subject of a separate lawsuit in which a former client associate claims she was subjected to years of abuse by a prominent adviser while the bank allegedly stood by.
In the lawsuit filed in Florida federal court, Dinah Mirson claims she started working at Wachovia in its Palm Beach County office around May 2008 (Wells Fargo later bought the bank). However, around November 2012, Mirson began supporting Jeffrey Bowman, who managed about $820 million in client assets, according to the lawsuit.
“From the first day of work with Mr. “As a successful banker in a male-dominated industry, and because Ms. Mirson is a woman, since beginning to work with Mr. and subordinates.”
According to the lawsuit, Bowman “evolved” from demanding but tolerable behavior to “managing through intimidation, harassment, neglect, threats and the promise of future money.” Mirson also claimed Bowman had a “well-known” reputation for mistreating female colleagues.
According to Mirson, in 2019, she had a recurrence of Crohn's disease and colitis after years “without serious incident,” which her doctors attributed to workplace stress. Around the start of the pandemic in 2020, Mirson told the bank he wanted to work part-time or pursue disability leave or early retirement. However, supervisors at the bank allegedly convinced him to continue working remotely.
But according to Mirson, the abuse continued.
“It was well known among the female employees at the Bank… that they should avoid Mr. Bowman because he treated female subordinates in this manner,” the complaint said. “However, nothing was done to stop or remedy his discriminatory mistreatment of women.”
AdvisorHub first reported the lawsuitwhich also reported that Bowman died in 2023. A Wells Fargo spokesman said the firm was “reviewing the complaint” with no further comment at this time.
Mirson said this abuse came in cycles, with Bowman allegedly demoting Mirson only to apologize and praise her work, with the pattern repeating. Mirson eventually took a sick leave and said she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in addition to her chronic illness.
Bowman's alleged verbal abuse continued while Mirson was on sick leave, prompting her to formally complain to the bank. She believed the bank took no steps toward a substantive investigation and argued it was not surprising that Wells Fargo ignored Bowman's alleged conduct, saying “he was one of the Bank's biggest rainmakers.”
But according to Mirson, she learned on August 19 (while still on sick leave) that she would be fired on August 30. She is now suing for future lost wages and punitive damages.