Lorna Hajdini, a JPMorgan Chase investment banker accused of sexual assault in a viral lawsuit, has countersued her accuser, alleging his malicious lies destroyed her reputation and wreaked havoc on her life. In papers filed on Tuesday night in a New York state court in Manhattan, Hajdini said her former colleague Chirayu Rana fabricated allegations that she raped and drugged him to attract press coverage, cause her pain, and extract millions from her and JPMorgan.
“Unfortunately, it has succeeded despite its falsity,” the countersuit stated. Hajdini has been mocked, ridiculed, and harassed around the clock, becoming the focus of vile, degrading, and sexual jokes and memes as a direct consequence of Rana’s lies, according to the filing. The countersuit adds that Rana’s false, malicious, and bad faith statements have wreaked havoc on her life. Hajdini is seeking unspecified damages for defamation, emotional distress, and other claims.
Rana’s lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday, and Hajdini’s legal team had no additional comment. JPMorgan, also a defendant in Rana’s lawsuit, said on Wednesday: “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.”
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. The complaint graphically described how Hajdini allegedly threatened Rana, who is of Asian descent, with racially derogatory language, claiming she “owned” him and would sabotage his career if he did not fulfill her sexual demands. Rana sued under a pseudonym but has since been publicly identified. JPMorgan placed him on administrative leave in June 2025, where he remained when he sued, according to his complaint.
Hajdini denied being Rana’s supervisor, using racial epithets, or threatening him. She also stated 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, offering $1 million, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. Men bring about 17% of sexual-harassment claims, according to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which does not track the gender of those accused.
Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse is available from organizations such as Rainn (800-656-4673 in the US), Rape Crisis (0808 500 2222 in the UK), and 1800Respect (1800 737 732 in Australia). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html.
