Lorna Hajdini, a JP Morgan Chase executive accused in a lawsuit of sexually harassing a junior employee, has denied the allegations, stating that she “categorically denies the allegations” and “never engaged in any inappropriate conduct” with the complainant.
“Lorna categorically denies the allegations. She never engaged in any inappropriate conduct with this individual of any kind and has never even been to the location where the alleged sexual assault supposedly took place," a statement issued to The New York Post read.
JP Morgan said an internal investigation found no evidence to support allegations that executive Lorna Hajdini sexually harassed and abused a junior male employee, following a lawsuit filed by a plaintiff identified as Chirayu Rana under the pseudonym John Doe.
“Following an investigation, we don’t believe there’s any merit to these claims,” a company representative said, as cited by The Daily Mail. “While numerous employees cooperated with the investigation, the complainant refused to participate and has declined to provide facts that would be central to support his allegations.”
Lorna Hajdini, 37, an executive director in JP Morgan Chase’s leveraged finance division, is accused in a lawsuit of coercing a married colleague into “non-consensual and humiliating sex acts” over several months, despite his repeated objections.
The complaint further alleges that she admitted to drugging him with the date rape drug “roofies” on multiple occasions and, during one incident, berated him as he cried while performing a sex act on him without his consent, as cited by The Daily Mail.
The complaint was filed on Monday in the New York County Supreme Court by Rana.
The lawsuit also accuses JP Morgan Chase of enabling the alleged conduct and retaliating after it was reported, alleging the employee was placed on involuntary leave, his reputation was harmed, and threats against him continued while no action was taken against Hajdini and others.
According to the complaint, the alleged conduct began shortly after the two started working together in the spring of 2024, when the plaintiff joined as a senior vice president/director and Hajdini was appointed to the team the following month.
The lawsuit alleges that despite repeated resistance, Hajdini threatened professional consequences, telling him he would need to begin “pleasing” her to be promoted to executive director. It further claims she told him she “owned” him and controlled his promotion and bonus, which he understood as a threat that both would be withheld if he refused.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, the victim’s attorney, Daniel J Kaiser, described the allegations as serious and said his client had been affected both personally and professionally.
