Lorna Hajdini Lawsuit and Defamation Countersuit: Rana’s Claims

The Lorna Hajdini lawsuit is a pair of dueling cases in New York courts: a sexual assault, coercion, and racial harassment suit filed against the JPMorgan Chase executive director by former colleague Chirayu Rana in April 2026, and a defamation countersuit Hajdini filed against Rana the following month. Hajdini denies every allegation. By mid-June 2026, Rana was moving to withdraw his state court claims and refile in federal court, while Hajdini’s counterclaims continued.¹²

What Chirayu Rana Alleged

Rana, a 35-year-old former vice president in JPMorgan’s leveraged finance group, filed a 45-page complaint in New York County Supreme Court on April 27, 2026, initially proceeding under the pseudonym “John Doe.” The case is docketed as Doe v. JPMorgan Chase, No. 155620/2026.³⁴

The complaint said that shortly after Rana joined Hajdini’s team in spring 2024, she made sexual advances that escalated to threats and physical coercion. It quoted Hajdini as telling Rana, “If you don’t fuck me soon, I’m going to ruin you. Never forget. I fucking own you.”⁵ Rana alleged that Hajdini drugged him and forced him into sexual acts at a vacant apartment, and that she used JPMorgan’s internal employee-tracking systems and his personal banking records to monitor him.⁶

The suit also alleged a racially hostile work environment. Rana said Hajdini used slurs including “little Asian appetizer” and “brown boy,” and accused managing director Brandon Graffeo of saying he only wanted to hire “white Catholic and Christian males.” Rana further alleged retaliation after he filed an internal complaint through counsel on May 20, 2025: he was placed on involuntary leave on June 6, 2025, more than half of his June 30, 2025 paycheck was withheld, and JPMorgan personnel allegedly contacted private equity firms to blacklist him.⁶

How Hajdini and JPMorgan Responded

Hajdini, a 15-year JPMorgan veteran and NYU Stern graduate, has categorically denied every allegation. Through her attorneys she has said she was not Rana’s supervisor, never used racial slurs, never threatened his career, and never visited several of the locations where the alleged assaults purportedly took place. Internal HR documents cited in her filings state she had no authority over Rana’s compensation or promotions, and that the two reported to different managing directors.⁷¹

On the evening of May 19, 2026, Hajdini filed a countersuit in New York state Supreme Court in Manhattan, bringing claims for defamation and emotional distress. She alleged that Rana orchestrated a “months-long campaign” of false accusations designed to “destroy her reputation” and “extract millions of dollars” from her and JPMorgan.⁷⁸⁴⁹

JPMorgan sided publicly with Hajdini. On May 20, 2026, the bank said: “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.”¹ Before the suit was filed, the bank had offered Rana $1 million to settle. He did not accept, and by mid-May 2026 a spokesperson said: “We will not be making any offer to settle the case.”¹⁰

Credibility Problems in the Case

Several disclosures have complicated Rana’s account. An internal JPMorgan investigation reportedly found “zero evidence” to support his claims, and the bank said Rana refused to participate or provide evidence of his own.⁷

Hajdini’s countersuit alleges that Rana previously made “eerily similar fabricated allegations of sexual misconduct against a supervisor at a prior place of employment,” including that he had been “sexually assaulted, drugged, and raped.” The prior employer was not named, though Rana’s resume includes Morgan Stanley and the Carlyle Group.⁵

Publicly accessible transcripts from a legal chatbot, AskALawyerOnCall.com, showed that around July 2024 a user identified as Rana sought advice about a workplace incident at Morgan Stanley. In those exchanges he wrote, “I was raped, secually assulted [sic], harassed, and forced to do drugs by my former boss at Morgan Stanley,” and consistently referred to the alleged abuser as “he.” That gendered reference contradicts his later suit against Hajdini, who is a woman, and the chatbot transcripts placed the alleged Morgan Stanley events in 2020, years before Rana joined JPMorgan.¹¹¹²

Reporting also established that Rana falsely told JPMorgan in mid-December 2024 that his father had died in order to take paid bereavement leave. The New York Post confirmed his father, Chaitanya, was alive and spoke to the paper.³

Colleagues quoted by Livemint described Rana as “socially awkward” and noted that Hajdini reported to Graffeo rather than supervising Rana, a structural point that undercuts the complaint’s premise that she controlled his bonus and promotion.¹³

Where the Cases Stand

Rana tried to litigate anonymously. On May 26, 2026, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Dakota D. Ramseur denied the request, ruling that Rana had not met the “heavy burden to justify the extraordinary relief to proceed anonymously” and that anonymity would impair Hajdini’s ability to defend herself. The defense noted Rana had already been named in press coverage and given an on-the-record interview. “You can’t put the genie back in the bottle,” Ramseur said.¹⁴²

The same day, Rana’s attorney Daniel Kaiser, who had filed the original complaint, notified the court he was withdrawing. Neither he nor Rana publicly explained the split, and Rana was left representing himself.¹⁵¹⁶

On June 8, 2026, Rana filed papers to discontinue his state claims and said he would refile in federal court by the end of the month. Legal commentators characterized the move as forum-shopping to escape Judge Ramseur. Hajdini’s defamation counterclaims in state court are not affected by Rana’s withdrawal of his own claims, and as of mid-June 2026 no federal case had been filed. A court date of June 23, 2026, was set in Manhattan Supreme Court, and Rana said through new counsel that he intended to file a “comprehensive” federal complaint with new evidence, none of which had been made public.²¹⁷¹⁸

What Legal Observers Are Saying

By mid-June 2026, several attorneys had expressed doubt about Rana’s case. Employment lawyer Susan Crumiller noted that despite the specificity of the allegations, Rana’s team had produced little supporting evidence, with the case resting largely on alleged verbal statements rather than documented communications. Attorney Nicole Brenecki said Rana “does not have a case” and read Judge Ramseur’s earlier suggestion for an out-of-court resolution as a signal the court viewed the suit as meritless. Attorney David Ring warned that if the suit is ultimately found baseless, federal courts could hold Rana accountable for litigation misconduct, and Hajdini’s side would likely seek to recover legal fees.¹⁷

1
The Guardian. JPMorgan Banker Countersues Sexual Assault Accuser
2
New York Post. Ex-JPMorgan Banker Chirayu Rana Wants to Drop NY Sex Slave Lawsuit
3
New York Post. Ex-JPMorgan Banker Chirayu Rana Took Bereavement Leave for Death of His Dad — but He’s Still Alive
4
Insurance Journal. JPMorgan Banker Countersues Accuser in Defamation Case
5
New York Magazine. JPMorgan Exec’s Accuser Made Eerily Similar Claims Before
6
CAPC Law. When Power Turns Predatory: Chirayu Rana v. JPMorgan Chase and Lorna Hajdini
7
New York Post. JPMorgan Exec Lorna Hajdini Sues Chirayu Rana for Defamation
8
Reuters. JPMorgan Banker Countersues Accuser, Says Sexual Assault Lies Ruined Her Life
9
Business Insider. JPMorgan Banker Lorna Hajdini Defamation Lawsuit
10
Reuters. When a Man Sues a Woman: Legal Questions Swirl in Salacious JPMorgan Sex Harassment Case
11
New York Post. Male Ex-JPMorgan Staffer Accused of Fabricated Sex Assault Claims Once Apparently Asked Legal Chatbot for Advice
12
Firstpost. JP Morgan Abuse Case: Why Chirayu Rana’s Exchange With a Chatbot Is Under Scrutiny
13
Livemint. Lorna Hajdini Sexual Abuse Case: JP Morgan Colleagues Call Chirayu Rana Socially Awkward, Question Claims
14
Yahoo News. Anonymous Accuser in Graphic Sex Harassment Case
15
Bloomberg. Lawyer Who Filed Viral Suit Against JPMorgan Seeks to Exit Case
16
India Today. Chirayu Rana JPMorgan Lawsuit: Lawyer Daniel Kaiser Withdraws Before Hearing
17
New York Post. Chirayu Rana’s Banker Sex Slave Case Is Falling Apart, Experts Say
18
New York Magazine. JPMorgan Sex Slave Accuser Says New Evidence Is Coming