Lorna Hajdini sues Chirayu Rana, says her life has become "a daily living nightmare"

Lorna Hajdini, the JPMorgan leveraged finance executive director accused of exploiting male vice president Chirayu Rana and of making him her sex slave, is countersuing Rana. 

In a court filing yesterday, Hajdini's lawyers repeatedly denied all Rana's accusations and laid out her claim of 'defamation, defamation per se, intentional infliction of emotional distress, prima facie tort, and intentional interference with business relations.'

Hajdini's lawyers didn't respond to a request to comment for this article. Her full filing can be found here. 

Rana's lawyer didn't respond to a request to comment for this article. His earlier filing detailing his complaints against Hajdini and JPMorgan can be found here. 

JPMorgan also did not respond to a request to comment for this article. A spokesperson for the bank told the New York Post: “We fully support Lorna and her right to defend herself and protect her reputation. As we have said from the outset, we don’t believe the allegations against her or the firm have merit.”

Hajdini's new filing states that her life has become "a daily, living nightmare from which she has been unable to escape." Although she is still working for JPMorgan, the filing says Hajdini, a "hard worker" who performs at an "exemplary level" is finding it harder to do her job. She is unable to take public transport and must pay for "private and/or shared-ride transportation to avoid media and other public scrutiny."

The new filing states that Hajdini "has sought and received mental-health treatment to manage the severe emotional distress" caused by Rana's claims. It says there have been threats to her personal safety and that both Hajdini and members of her family "have been mocked, ridiculed, and harassed around the clock." Hadjini has been "the ongoing focal point of countless jokes, memes, and AI generated images and videos of a persistently vile, degrading, and sexual nature."

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Hajdini's filing adds that her "beloved" work with an organisation representing underprivileged students has also come to an end. 

In the circumstances, Hajdini says Rana must compensate her for "compensatory and punitive damages, as well as the full costs of this proceeding, including attorney’s fees," while also paying special damages for mental healthcare to manage her "emotional fallout."

Hajdini's filing accuses Rana of being a 'sexual predator' who maliciously targeted her with the intention of both destroying her reputation and extracting millions of dollars from JPMorgan and herself. It also alleges that Rana made a similar complaint at a previous employer and says that he fabricated the death of his father to get time off work. 

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal earlier this month, Rana's attorney Daniel Kaiser said: “We look forward to the truth and facts coming to light through court proceedings. Whether my client’s civil rights were violated will be determined in a court of law.” Kaiser told the WSJ that although Rana's father hadn't died, a “dad-like figure” who helped raise him had instead passed away.

Rana's original claim states that Hadjini "leveraged her seniority" to compel him to perform lewd acts. Among other things, he alleges that Hadjii told him suck her toes in return for facilitating his promotion and bonus. Hajdini denies this. It says she was at no time Rana's supervisor and neither prepared his performance reviews, determined his bonus, nor decided his promotions.

JPMorgan said previously that it fully investigated the allegations and found no wrongdoing. In her filing, Hajdini says she sat for 'lengthy' interviews and provided evidence to prove that Rana's accusations were untrue.  

Even if Hajdini succeeds in her complaint against Rana, it is not clear whether Rana will be in a position to compensate her. The WSJ reported previously that Rana was earning over $500k a year at JPMorgan. It also reported that he initially asked the bank for $22m in damages. This has not been confirmed by Rana's attorney. 

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