JPMorgan banker countersues accuser, says sexual assault 'lies' ruined her life

Investment banker Lorna Hajdini says ex-colleague Chirayu Rana’s ‘malicious’ allegations ‘wreaked havoc’

The JPMorgan Chase investment banker accused of sexual assault in an explosive lawsuit that went viral countersued her accuser, saying his malicious lies destroyed her reputation and “wreaked havoc” on her life.

In papers filed on Tuesday night in a New York state court in Manhattan, Lorna Hajdini said her former colleague Chirayu Rana fabricated allegations that she raped and drugged him, in order to attract maximum press coverage, cause her pain and extract millions of dollars from her and JPMorgan.

“Unfortunately, it has succeeded despite its falsity,” the countersuit said.

Hajdini has “been mocked, ridiculed, and harassed around the clock”, becoming the focus of jokes and memes of a “vile, degrading, and sexual nature – all a direct consequence of plaintiff’s lies”, according to the countersuit.

“Plaintiff’s false, malicious, and bad faith statements have wreaked havoc on Ms Hajdini’s life,” it added.

Hajdini is seeking unspecified damages from Rana for defamation, emotional distress and other claims.

Rana’s lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. Lawyers for Hajdini had no immediate additional comment.

JPMorgan is also a defendant in Rana’s lawsuit.

“We fully support Lorna and her right to defend herself and protect her reputation,” the New York-based bank said on Wednesday. “As we’ve said from the outset, we don’t believe the allegations against her or the firm have merit.“

In his 27 April complaint, Rana, a vice-president in leveraged finance, accused Hajdini of leveraging her seniority to coerce him into non-consensual sexual activity over several months.

The complaint graphically described how Hajdini allegedly threatened Rana, who is of Asian descent, with racially derogatory language, saying she “owned” him and would sabotage his career if he didn’t fulfill her sexual demands.

Rana sued under a pseudonym but has since been publicly identified. JPMorgan put him on administrative leave in June 2025, where he remained when he sued, according to his complaint.

Hajdini denied being Rana’s supervisor, using racial epithets or threatening him.

She also said she was a JPMorgan executive director who joined the bank in 2011, and had never been the subject of a discrimination or harassment complaint. JPMorgan said on 6 May it tried to settle with Rana before he sued. The bank offered $1m, the Wall Street Journal has reported. Men bring about 17% of sexual-harassment claims, according to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The agency does not track the gender of people accused of harassment.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organizations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html