NEW YORK - A former JPMorgan Chase & Co Inc employee sued the bank on Friday, accusing it of firing him after he uncovered what he said were schemes to overstate the value of bank assets, court documents showed.

A JPMorgan spokesman declined to comment.

David Zhang, a back office worker, said in the lawsuit that he was ignored and eventually fired after reporting to senior employees and regulators that Bear Stearns was not marking down commercial loans and other assets, causing overstatements in earnings reports.

The lawsuit, seeking damages of $1 million and other recompense, was filed in federal court in Manhattan.

JPMorgan absorbed Bear Stearns last year.

Zhang joined JPMorgan in the summer of 2007 and was fired the following June, according to the lawsuit. (Reporting by Steve Eder; Editing by Toni Reinhold)

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