Chirayu Rana (Left) has claimed in a lawsuit that Lorna Hajdini (Right) forced him into humiliating sexual acts
Two new witness accounts have come out and testified on a high-profile sexual harassment lawsuit involving JPMorgan.According to the Daily Mail, fresh details have emerged from two individuals regarding alleged incidents at a New York apartment.The case centres on claims by Chirayu Rana, a former banker, who accuses senior executive Lorna Hajdini of forcing him to have sex with her, along with other kinds of abuse and coercion. Now, newly filed sworn statements from two unnamed witnesses are backing Rana’s claims, even as JPMorgan itself and several colleagues deny the allegations.
First witness: ‘She asked me to come to the bedroom’
One witness described a disturbing late-night encounter in September 2024. According to the filing, they were staying at Rana’s apartment when they were woken by a woman who was “clearly intoxicated and speaking loudly”. The witness claims Rana later identified the woman as Hajdini.“A short while later, I was awoken by Ms Hajdini, who was completely naked,” the witness said.They added: “Ms Hajdini sat on the couch and lit a cigarette. She then asked me to come to the bedroom with her and ‘join them’. I told her no. She said, ‘Come join, come join’. I again told her no.”The witness then reveals a chilling remark allegedly made by Hajdini. “You know, I own [Rana], so you’d better come join,” she is said to have told the witness, who again refused.The witness claims Hajdini returned to the bedroom, after which they heard Rana “loudly pleading” with her “to stop, and to leave”.The witness added: “It became quiet. Then, sometime later, [Ms Hajdini] came out of the bedroom and left the apartment.”
Second witness: ‘Woman at work making my life living hell’
A second witness said Rana had told him months earlier that a woman at work was making his life “hell.”The same witness later claimed to have seen Hajdini interacting with Rana in an inappropriate way, including kissing his neck and grabbing him while he appeared uncomfortable.
What the lawsuit is about
The new claims from the two witnessess come as Rana is seeking damages for emotional trauma, lost earnings and reputational harm. His lawyer says he has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), due to the alleged abuse.Rana’s claims highly detailed. He claims that Hajdini forced him into “non-consensual and humiliating sex acts” over several months, sometimes after drugging him with viagra. He also claims she threatened to destroy his career if he resisted her sexual advances.In one alleged exchange, she told him, “If you don’t f*** me soon, I’m going to ruin you… never forget, I f****** own you.”Other remarks cited in the lawsuit include explicit sexual comments and racial insults including Hajdini calling Rana “Brown boy.”Hajdini has denied all accusations. Through her lawyers, she said 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”.JPMorgan has also rejected the claims, stating that an internal investigation found no evidence to support them. A spokesman of the company said Rana “refused to participate and has declined to provide facts that would be central to supporting his allegations”.The bank is also accused in the lawsuit of failing to act on Rana’s complaints and retaliating against him by placing him on leave and damaging his professional reputation. JPMorgan denies these allegations as well.The case has sparked debate, partly due to the graphic nature of the claims and the lack of documentary evidence such as messages or emails. Some colleagues have defended Hajdini, describing the lawsuit as “a complete fabrication.”Moreover, Hajdini and Rana worked under different managers within the same team, and Hajdini had no influence over the salary or appraisal that Rana might receive, according to the job structure.Rana’s legal team insists the case is genuine. His lawyer said the abuse was “horrific” and that they look forward to presenting evidence in court, including witness testimony.
