{"id":2266,"date":"2026-05-21T12:40:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T12:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/05\/21\/jpmorgan-banker-countersues-accuser-says-sexual-assault-lies-ruined-her-life\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T12:40:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T12:40:22","slug":"jpmorgan-banker-countersues-accuser-says-sexual-assault-lies-ruined-her-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=2266","title":{"rendered":"JPMorgan banker countersues accuser, says sexual assault &#8216;lies&#8217; ruined her life"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"b3295204-efa1-40d4-9393-1b6e726a8445\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"the entrance to JPMorgan Chase's headquarters\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/aa645b6b7356954072964916fdcf0cee2f8c1dd2\/500_0_5000_4000\/master\/5000.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">JPMorgan is also a defendant in Chirayu Rana\u2019s lawsuit and said: \u2018We don\u2019t believe the allegations against [Lorna Hajdini] or the firm have merit.<\/span> Photograph: Eduardo Mu\u00f1oz\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"b3295204-efa1-40d4-9393-1b6e726a8445\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">JPMorgan is also a defendant in Chirayu Rana\u2019s lawsuit and said: \u2018We don\u2019t believe the allegations against [Lorna Hajdini] or the firm have merit.<\/span> Photograph: Eduardo Mu\u00f1oz\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">JPMorgan banker countersues accuser, says sexual assault &#8216;lies&#8217; ruined her life<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>Investment banker Lorna Hajdini says ex-colleague Chirayu Rana\u2019s \u2018malicious\u2019 allegations \u2018wreaked havoc\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">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 \u201cwreaked havoc\u201d on her life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In papers filed on Tuesday night in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/new-york\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">New York<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cUnfortunately, it has succeeded despite its falsity,\u201d the countersuit said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Hajdini has \u201cbeen mocked, ridiculed, and harassed around the clock\u201d, becoming the focus of jokes and memes of a \u201cvile, degrading, and sexual nature \u2013 all a direct consequence of plaintiff\u2019s lies\u201d, according to the countersuit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cPlaintiff\u2019s false, malicious, and bad faith statements have wreaked havoc on Ms Hajdini\u2019s life,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Hajdini is seeking unspecified damages from Rana for defamation, emotional distress and other claims.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Rana\u2019s lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. Lawyers for Hajdini had no immediate additional comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">JPMorgan is also a defendant in Rana\u2019s lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cWe fully support Lorna and her right to defend herself and protect her reputation,\u201d the New York-based bank said on Wednesday. \u201cAs we\u2019ve said from the outset, we don\u2019t believe the allegations against her or the firm have merit.\u201c<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The complaint graphically described how Hajdini allegedly threatened Rana, who is of Asian descent, with racially derogatory language, saying she \u201cowned\u201d him and would sabotage his career if he didn\u2019t fulfill her sexual demands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Hajdini denied being Rana\u2019s supervisor, using racial epithets or threatening him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/new-york\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">New York<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/business\/jpmorgan\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">JP Morgan<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/society\/rape\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Rape and sexual assault<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=JPMorgan%20banker%20countersues%20accuser,%20says%20sexual%20assault%20'lies'%20ruined%20her%20life&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/21\/jpmorgan-banker-countersue-sexual-assault-accuser?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F21%2Fjpmorgan-banker-countersue-sexual-assault-accuser&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/21\/jpmorgan-banker-countersue-sexual-assault-accuser\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>JPMorgan is also a defendant in Chirayu Rana\u2019s lawsuit and said: \u2018We don\u2019t believe the allegations against [Lorna<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2266\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}