A bitter legal battle at JPMorgan Chase has taken another dramatic turn after executive Lorna Hajdini filed a defamation lawsuit against former banker Chirayu Rana, accusing him of making up false claims that she treated him as her “sex slave”.
Hajdini filed the case in New York State Supreme Court on Tuesday, reports the New York Post.
The scandal has the Wall Street in shambles since Rana first sued her last month under the pseudonym “John Doe”. In his original complaint, Rana accused the Lorna of drugging him with viagra, forcing him into non-consensual sexual acts and subjecting him to racist abuse during their time at JPMorgan. Rana also claimed that Hajdini humiliated his wife with insults as well.
Now, Hajdini is fighting back publicly.
“Ms Hajdini categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of unlawful conduct,” the countersuit states.
It continues: “These allegations are entirely false, malicious, and fabricated, and were concocted for the improper purpose of personal enrichment at the expense of defendants and others.”
According to the filing, Hajdini alleges Rana planned this for months to destroy her reputation, damage her career and pressure both her and JPMorgan into paying millions of dollars. Her legal team accused him of “peddling his lies that Ms. Hajdini was a racist, sexual predator,” claiming his intention was “to destroy her reputation for leverage to extort millions of dollars” from the bank and the executive.
The lawsuit also makes another allegation. It claims Rana had previously made “eerily similar fabricated allegations of sexual misconduct against a supervisor at a prior place of employment”. The allegation has not been independently verified.
“Ms Hajdini seeks to vindicate her name, mitigate the substantial damage inflicted upon her, and hold (the) plaintiff accountable for his depraved and unlawful conduct,” the filing states.
The latest court action comes just weeks after Rana’s "graphic" allegations. He had initially sought a settlement worth more than $20 million before leaving the bank. He later rejected a $1 million settlement offer from JPMorgan before filing his lawsuit.
A spokesman for JPMorgan said: “We fully support Lorna and her right to defend herself and protect her reputation. As we have said from the outset, we don’t believe the allegations against her or the firm have merit.”
An internal investigation conducted by the bank found no evidence supporting Rana’s accusations. It involved various HRs and company seniors. Rana himself declined to participate or provide evidence.
Several of Rana’s claims later became questionable.
One allegation stated Hajdini threatened to reduce his bonus unless he agreed to have sex with her. However, internal HR documents reviewed by The New York Post showed Hajdini had no authority over Rana’s pay, promotion prospects or performance evaluations because they both reported to different managing directors.
Another allegation described an incident in which Hajdini removed her shirt and insulted Rana’s then-partner with racist language. Hajdini’s lawyers denied the accusation and said she had never behaved inappropriately towards him.
The row worsened after Rana had falsely claimed his father had died in order to secure extended leave from work between late 2024 and May last year. His father, Chaitanya Rana was later located and was found alive at his home in Fairfax, Virginia.
Chatbot records from 2024 also mentioned an earlier workplace complaint from Rana’s time at Morgan Stanley, where the alleged abuser was said to be a man.
Rana’s career in finance went through a rollercoaster. He recently left investment firm Bregal Sagemount shortly before filing the original lawsuit. His previous roles included stints at Houlihan Lokey, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and The Carlyle Group. He also spent a brief period at MidCap Financial, an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, where he was removed over performance concerns.
