JP Morgan Lawsuit: Rana’s Claims and Hajdini’s Countersuit

The JPMorgan Rana-Hajdini lawsuit is a set of dueling cases in New York arising from an April 2026 complaint by former vice president Chirayu Rana, who accused JPMorgan Chase and executive director Lorna Hajdini of sexual assault, racial discrimination, and retaliation. Hajdini denies every allegation and has filed a defamation countersuit; JPMorgan says the claims have no merit. By June 2026, Rana was seeking to drop his state case and refile in federal court.¹

What Rana Alleged

Rana joined JPMorgan’s leveraged finance group in March 2024. Hajdini, a roughly 15-year veteran of the firm, joined the same team the following month.² In a 45-page complaint filed April 27, 2026, Rana alleged that Hajdini used her seniority to coerce him into sexual acts over roughly a year, from spring 2024 into mid-2025.³

The complaint described quid pro quo harassment, alleging Hajdini threatened to derail Rana’s career if he did not comply with her sexual demands, including telling him: “If you don’t fuck me soon, I’m going to ruin you. Never forget. I fucking own you.” Rana further alleged she drugged him with Rohypnol and erection-enabling medications to facilitate nonconsensual encounters, many at a vacant apartment belonging to a third party the complaint identified as “witness one.”²

The complaint also alleged a racially hostile team environment. Rana said Hajdini used slurs including “little Asian appetizer,” “brown boy,” and “curry in a hurry.” He named two other colleagues in the pattern: managing director Brandon Grafeo, who Rana said dismissed him as a diversity “headcount token” and used slurs including “Brown Boy” and “terrorist”; and vice president Tom Goodrich, who Rana alleged referred to employees of color as “knuckle draggers” and mocked Juneteenth. Rana said that despite being his group’s top performer he received a lower performance rating than white peers and was denied equal resources.⁴²

One unusual element concerned surveillance. Rana alleged Hajdini used an internal JPMorgan monitoring system called the “Workforce Activity Data Utility” to track his movements, and, because he was also a Chase retail banking customer, accessed his personal banking records to monitor his restaurant visits, doctor’s appointments, prescription medications, and even where he docked city bikes.²

On the retaliation claims, Rana alleged that after his lawyers filed a formal internal complaint on May 20, 2025, JPMorgan placed him on involuntary administrative leave on June 6, 2025, withheld more than half his paycheck starting June 30, 2025, and effectively blacklisted him with private equity firms by describing him as “lazy” and fired for cause.²

How JPMorgan Responded

JPMorgan said its internal investigation into Rana’s claims ran for months, reviewing emails and phone records and interviewing multiple employees, including Hajdini herself.⁵ The bank said it found “zero evidence” to support the allegations and that Rana refused to participate or provide supporting evidence.⁶

Internal HR documents reviewed by the New York Post reportedly showed Hajdini reported to a different managing director than Rana and had “no say whatsoever” over his compensation or promotion, contradicting a central premise of the quid pro quo claims.⁶ On May 20, 2026, the bank said publicly: “We fully support Lorna and her right to defend herself and protect her reputation. As we’ve said from the outset, we don’t believe the allegations against her or the firm have merit.”⁷

Before the lawsuit, JPMorgan had offered Rana $1 million to settle, according to the Wall Street Journal. The two sides could not reach an agreement.⁸

Hajdini’s Countersuit

On the evening of May 19, 2026, Hajdini sued Rana in New York state court in Manhattan, seeking unspecified damages for defamation, emotional distress, and malicious prosecution.⁹ She called the accusations “entirely false, malicious, and fabricated” and said they were “concocted for the improper purpose of personal enrichment.”³ Hajdini described the fallout as “a daily, living nightmare,” said she had been “mocked, ridiculed, and harassed around the clock,” and lost a volunteering position because of the allegations.¹⁰

Her filing also alleged Rana had made “eerily similar fabricated allegations of sexual misconduct against a supervisor” at Morgan Stanley about four years before joining JPMorgan.⁶ Separately, the New York Post reported that a user it attributed to Rana had posted on a legal-advice website about ten months before the JPMorgan litigation, describing being “raped, secually assulted [sic], harassed, and forced to do drugs” by a “former boss at Morgan Stanley.” The Post said it could not independently verify the Morgan Stanley claim.³

Hajdini denied being Rana’s supervisor and said she had never previously been the subject of a discrimination or harassment complaint.⁷

Where the Case Stands

Rana originally filed as “John Doe,” but on May 26, 2026, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Dakota D. Ramseur ruled he could not proceed anonymously, finding he had failed to meet the “heavy burden” for anonymous litigation and noting the unfairness of shielding him while Hajdini was publicly named. The court also noted Rana had participated in an on-the-record interview with The Juggernaut and worked with a crisis management firm. “You can’t put the genie back in the bottle,” the judge said.¹¹¹²

At the same hearing, Rana’s original attorney, Daniel Kaiser of Kaiser Saurborn & Mair, sought to withdraw, filing paperwork saying he had “agreed to be discharged.” Neither Kaiser nor Rana publicly explained why.¹³

By early June 2026, Rana had retained a new five-lawyer team from Joseph & Norinsberg LLC, led by Jon L. Norinsberg and Bennitta L. Joseph. On June 8, 2026, the team asked the court to voluntarily dismiss the state case without prejudice so Rana could file a “comprehensive” federal complaint adding federal civil rights, employment, and family and medical leave claims the state pleading had omitted. Rana planned to file the federal action by the end of that month.¹

Dropping the state case does not end the fight. Hajdini’s defamation counterclaim in state court is unaffected by Rana’s attempt to discontinue his own action, and Rana’s new team has raised First Amendment defenses, arguing some of his statements were opinion or rhetorical hyperbole. Hajdini is represented by Samuel S. Shaulson of Morgan Lewis & Bockius.¹⁴

Who the Parties Are

Rana’s career before JPMorgan included stints at Houlihan Lokey, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, and the Carlyle Group over roughly 12 years.¹⁵ After being placed on leave by JPMorgan in June 2025, he joined the private equity firm Bregal Sagemount in October 2025 but left on April 2, 2026, just weeks before filing the lawsuit. He appeared to be unemployed as of May 2026.¹⁶

Hajdini, a graduate of NYU’s Stern School of Business, joined JPMorgan in 2011 and holds the title of executive director in the leveraged finance division. She remained employed at the bank as of mid-2026.⁶

1
New York Post. Ex-JPMorgan Banker Chirayu Rana Wants to Drop NY Sex Slave Lawsuit
2
CapCLaw. When Power Turns Predatory: Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment — Chirayu Rana v. JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Lorna Hajdini
3
New York Magazine. JPMorgan Sex Slave Saga Takes Another Twist
4
Bloomberg Law. Rana v. JPMorgan Chase Complaint
5
Audacy/KRLD. JPMorgan Sex Harassment Lawsuit Retracted After Bank Probe Finds No Evidence
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New York Post. JPMorgan Exec Lorna Hajdini Sues Chirayu Rana for Defamation
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The Guardian. JPMorgan Banker Countersues Sexual Assault Accuser
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Wall Street Journal. JPMorgan Offered $1 Million Settlement Before Sexual Assault Claims Went Viral
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Reuters. JPMorgan Banker Countersues Accuser, Says Sexual Assault Lies Ruined Her Life
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Wall Street Journal. JPMorgan Banker Says Sex Assault Allegations Have Ruined Her Life
11
New York Post. Ex-JPMorgan Banker Chirayu Rana Dealt Second Major Legal Blow in Explosive Sex Slave Lawsuit
12
AOL/Associated Press. Anonymous Accuser in Graphic Sex Harassment Case
13
Insurance Journal. Lawyer for Former JPMorgan Banker Resigns Ahead of Court Appearance
14
InvestmentNews. Lawyer Exits Case of Former JPMorgan Chase Banker Whose Sexual Assault Claims Went Viral
15
New York Post. Chirayu Rana, Former JPMorgan Banker at Center of Sex Slave Allegations, Left New Job
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eFinancialCareers. Chirayu Rana JPMorgan