Chirayu Rana, a former vice president in JPMorgan Chase's leveraged finance division, has filed a sweeping federal lawsuit against his former supervisor, Lorna Hajdini, and the bank, dramatically expanding on allegations that first surfaced in April. The new complaint, filed in a federal court in New York, includes 21 claims against Hajdini and JPMorgan, encompassing sexual assault and battery, defamation, gender and racial discrimination, and retaliation.
Rana alleges that Hajdini, an executive director, groomed, isolated, and coerced him after becoming his supervisor in 2024. According to the lawsuit, Hajdini warned him in May 2024 that "I f***ing own you" and groped him at a private members' club, despite Rana being in a relationship at the time. Rana claims he felt he could not refuse her advances due to her significant influence over his work assignments. The lawsuit states that this alleged coercion culminated in repeated acts of sexual assault from the summer of 2024 onwards, with Hajdini allegedly overriding Rana's refusals using her supervisory authority and threats.
The complaint also details an alleged incident from late September 2024, where a drunk and naked Hajdini allegedly emerged from a Manhattan apartment and attempted to recruit Rana's friend for a threesome. According to the filing, Rana's friend repeatedly refused her advances. The friend later reported hearing Rana pleading behind a closed door, "No, no, this isn't right," and telling Hajdini to leave.
Rana further alleges that Hajdini drugged him on multiple occasions. He claims she covertly spiked his drink with a performance-enhancing substance without his knowledge or consent when he was unable to perform sexually during their encounters. Hajdini later admitted to giving him "a little something" to help his performance, the lawsuit states.
Allegations of Racial Discrimination
The lawsuit also details alleged racist treatment Rana, who is Nepalese, suffered at JPMorgan. He claims Hajdini and other senior colleagues referred to him as "Brown Boy." The complaint states that Hajdini allegedly said JPMorgan "wants to keep it white and Christian" and favored employees "who look like Jamie Dimon." According to the suit, Asian employees were allegedly referred to as "Mr Chow" and "Mr Miyagi."
After Rana filed a discrimination complaint, he claims to have received anonymous threatening texts. One message reportedly read, "Hi brown boyyyy….We miss you! You f****** brown piece of s***. Good luck trying to find another job a******. Go back brownie, burn down just like Nepal is. You're not going to win." Another warned him to "watch (his) back" and threatened to "CALL ICE ON YOUR FAMILY."
Expanded Claims and Evidence
The new federal complaint expands on Rana's original lawsuit, which was filed in New York state court in April with the help of his then-lawyer. A judge recently ruled that Rana could dismiss his state court case and refile in federal court, using his own name. The federal filing includes new claims and alleged evidence, such as text messages, emails, and images, to corroborate Rana's allegations.
Among the new claims is that Hajdini "openly sexualized" another member of the leveraged finance team by sending a racy text message to a work group chat mocking the man's "thirstrap [sic] mirror selfie flexing his abs." The lawsuit states this message was "flagrantly inappropriate" as a supervisor commented on a colleague's body and private sexual life in writing within JPMorgan's systems.
Rana eventually left JPMorgan in 2025. The lawsuit states that the witness to the alleged threesome attempt incident has provided a sworn statement describing the encounter.
Both JPMorgan and Hajdini strongly deny the allegations. Hajdini has filed her own defamation countersuit, accusing Rana of fabricating his claims to damage her career. A lawyer for Hajdini stated that her allegations against him are categorically false and that she has never had any sexual or romantic relationship with Rana. JPMorgan has also denied the claims, stating that its internal investigation found no merit to them and that Rana refused to participate in the investigation.