JPMorgan Chase attempted to ward off the explosive lawsuit against leveraged finance executive Lorna Hajdini by offering a $1-million settlement to the accuser, former banker Chirayu Rana. According to The Wall Street Journal, Rana rejected the payout from the nation’s largest bank, holding out for a higher sum before ultimately taking his allegations public, where he accused Hajdini of sexual assault and racial harassment.
The bank has again denied Rana’s claims, stating that an investigation was carried out and no evidence was found, adding that the settlement was intended to support Hajdini, whose reputation could be harmed.
“While we cannot comment on confidential discussions, we did try to reach an agreement to avoid the time and expense of litigation and to support an employee who was being threatened with the very reputational harm now unfolding,” a spokesperson for JPMorgan said.
“We continue to believe these allegations have no merit and new information raised as a result of the public filing only reinforces that conclusion.”
Rana’s lawyer, Daniel Kaiser, who was not involved during the settlement discussions, pointed out that if the allegations were ‘fabricated’ as per JPMorgan Chase, then it wouldn’t have offered the money.
“However, I will note that in my 30-plus year career as an employment litigator, I have never had an employer defendant make such a substantial offer if they truly believed the allegations to be a ‘complete fabrication,'” Kaiser told Reuters.
New Claims
Earlier this week, Kaiser refiled the lawsuit after a brief removal, with newly added details including a testimony from a family friend who claims to have witnessed Hajdini’s intoxicated behaviour in a New York City apartment where he was invited for a threesome.
Rana’s friend said he was woken up by the drunk antics of Hajdini in the middle of the night. As he attempted to go back to sleep, a ‘completely naked’ Hajdini woke him up and sat on the couch he was sleeping on, lit up a cigarette and begged him to ‘join them’ in the bedroom. Despite refusing several times, the mystery witness claims Hajdini told him, “you know I own [redacted], so you better come join.”
Another anonymous statement, reportedly from the owner of the apartment where the family friend stayed, claims to have witnessed Hajdini kissing Rana’s neck on the street in the summer of 2024. Furthermore, in September 2024, the owner allegedly overheard them entering the building, with Hajdini stating: “I own you Brownie.”
