Former JPMorgan Chase banker expands lurid sexual harassment, racism lawsuit

“We don’t believe there’s any merit to these claims," a JPMorgan spokesperson said on behalf of the defendants. "While numerous employees cooperated with the investigation, the complainant refused.” Hajdini has also denied Rana's claims and countersued him for defamation, saying his lies "wreaked havoc" on her life, subjected her to around-the-clock ridicule, and were designed to attract maximum press coverage. Lawyers for Hajdini did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Rana filed his lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, after a state judge on July 16 dismissed a version filed in April so Rana and his new lawyers could add claims. The new complaint adds JPMorgan managing directors Brandon Graffeo and Jon Wolter as defendants. Rana said Graffeo "led" his degradation, while Graffeo and Wolter campaigned to poison his reputation in the private credit and leveraged finance industry after he resigned under pressure last October, causing his subsequent employer to fire him in April. JPMorgan associate Kelly Crowe was also added as a defendant, with Rana saying she called him "brown boy" and an "HR liability." Rana's 21-count complaint seeks unspecified compensatory damages, punitive damages, front and back pay and other remedies from various defendants for alleged violations of federal civil rights laws, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, and New York state and city human rights laws. The claims include sexual and racial discrimination; harassment and retaliation; a defamation claim against JPMorgan, Graffeo and Wolter, and a sexual assault claim against Hajdini. The former JPMorgan Chase banker whose lurid sexual harassment lawsuit went viral added new claims and defendants on Monday, saying the largest U.S. bank's acceptance of racism and sexual coercion irreparably destroyed his career. Chirayu Rana said racism was ingrained in the culture of his otherwise all-white leveraged finance team, where his South Asian heritage "became the punchline for a stream of degrading jokes," including calling him a "monkey" and "brown boy." In an 82-page complaint, Rana, who is of Nepali descent, added allegations that colleagues suggested he transact in rupees, and one texted that he should "run before we call ICEE {sic} on your family," referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Rana also renewed allegations that the defendant Lorna Hajdini, a JPMorgan executive director, coerced him into sex and demanded his submissiveness as a condition of advancing his career, repeatedly saying she "owned" him. Once a "leading" deal originator paid "well over" $2 million a year, Rana has been "effectively blackballed," the complaint said. "His reputation has been destroyed, his professional relationships shattered, and the career he spent years building reduced to rubble. This was not an unintended consequence of defendants’ misconduct. It was its intended result."

Former JPMorgan Chase banker expands lurid sexual harassment, racism lawsuit

JPMorgan and Hajdini deny the allegations

Three new defendants and broader legal claims

Rana adds new claims and says racism was ingrained on his team

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